Power Rangers Wing Force
by Androzani84
Summary: An Adaptation of Chojin Sentai Jetman.
1. On A Wing… Part 1

Mark Goodman was a normal man. He was an early college graduate, who had made his way into the US airforce and been decorated with honours. He enjoyed a normal life living in a a suburban house in Winter Valley with his teenage sister Lulu. And he had a stable relationship with his girlfriend Mary, even if she was up on Space Station Garuda. But what Mark Goodman didn't realise, was that this normalcy would not last.

* * *

It all started on an ordinary Saturday morning, with Mark sitting at the breakfast table with Lulu. He had finished up with his cereal and was now putting the jacket of his Air Force uniform. "Alright, I'd better get to work, or they might dock my pay." He could see the look on Lulu's face. She was about to ask the same question she always asked whenever he went out to work. And the answer was always the same. He didn't even wait for her lips to move. "No, Lulu. You can't come with me to the Nest."

Lulu subsequently assumed a pouty face. "Oh come on, bro. I've always wanted to see what it's like at a USAF base. What if I want to become a pilot once I'm out of mandatory education, like you did?"

"While there's every possibility of that happening, you're still just an unauthorised civilian at this point.", Mark told her. "If I took you in without prior notice, they could have me either reassigned or decommissioned." With the point made, Mark turned away and carried on, not noticing Lulu making a face that indicated she had an idea.

* * *

A few minutes later, Mark set off in his car, after correcting a slightly out of place trunk. En route to the Nest, his car was grazed by a bullet, which caused him to stop and get out to check. He saw that the shooter was a plump black man and a skinny blond accomplice. "Don't move, man.", the black one said. "We're armed. We just want your money."

Now that he could see them clearly, Mark recognised them. "I know you two. Matthew Lewis and Edgar Howell, known to your friends as Matt and Eddy. You got kicked out of the project I'm assigned to when it turned out you were trying to sabotage it. Do you really think robbing me will compensate you for that?"

"Nah man, we're trying to make people like you compensate us for the rough lifestyle we've had to live.", Eddy replied. "We're victims of today's society taking our homes and parents from us, but the two of us are gonna tear it all down."

Mark cracked his knuckles. "Well if that's how you want to play it, then let's dance." He then proceeded to beat the ever-loving tar out of his would-be muggers, who promptly fled after the first 6 or 9 injuries.

"Nice work, big bro. You showed those punks who's boss." Mark turned around to the source of the voice. It was Lulu, who was sitting up from out of the car's trunk. span class="s1"She promptly stopped clapping when she noticed that he had noticed. "I'm sorry, Mark. It's just that the opportunity to see a real military establishment is just something too big for me to suppress my urges."

Mark was about to argue back, when the radio communicator on his wrist began to beep. He pressed the answer button to be met with the voice of his superior officer, one Wing Commander June Roberts. "Goodman, I need you to be here within the next 20 minutes. Major James is set to bring Garuda within contact range at that time. I know she'll want to talk with you and I'm sure the feeling is mutual."

Mark scowled at this. He had no time to take Lulu back and make it in time to talk to Mary. "Wilco, Commander. But I'm giving you an advance notice. I'll be bringing my sister with me. She's interested in joining our work at some point after her graduation."

After a few seconds of thinking, Roberts responded. "Normally civilians aren't allowed into military bases. However, since your sister is as eager as you say she is, I'll make an exception. But just this once." With that, she hung up.

Mark looked up to Lulu. "What if I let you have a look at a real military base for a day trip?", he said. As expected, her face was filled with glee.

* * *

Deep in hyperspace, an unknown object was making its way to Earth. But first, it had another target. Space Station Garuda.

* * *

Back to Earth, Mark and Lulu had pulled up to the Nest. It was a large pyramid-like structure, with a launch bay halfway up one of the faces. Mark could just see the sheer joy on Lulu's face. After seeing this place, she definitely wasn't going to be bugging him to bring her here after today. "If you think this is cool, just wait until you see the inside, little sis."

Sure enough, the inside of the structure put the outside to shame. After parking the car, Mark immediately took Lulu to the hangar bay. "This is where we're preparing a new set of experimental vehicles for deployment. They use state of the art tracking and navigation technology to eliminate potential threats to the safe future of Earth. One of these vehicles is already assembled up on Garuda, with four more being developed by our space division, under Major Mary James."

Lulu remembered something Mark had discussed with her once. "Mary James? Isn't that your -." But before she could continue, a young man in a white coat entered the room, before stopping when he saw Lulu.

"What the heck, Goodman?", the young man yelled. "You know we're not allowed to bring civilians into the Nest."

"It's okay, Wayne.", Mark replied. "I got permission from the Commander to bring her in. Besides, she's determined to get inside this place through hard work, so who am I to deny her?"

The man named Wayne seemed mildly annoyed. "Goodman, I'll thank you to remember my title is Dr. Burley. I am the science officer for this base, after all."

It was then that Lulu spoke again. "Wow, you're the science officer? That's so cool. I'd love to see what you're working on."

Hearing this, Wayne immediately changed his tack and decided to start humouring his rival's sister. "Really? Well in that case Goodman, how about you go and see the Commander? I'll handle the rest of this young lady's tour."

Mark didn't quite understand what Wayne was trying to do, but he decided to go along with it. It would save him some time. "Okay, you've got a deal. Lulu, I'll see you when you're done with seeing the base." With that, he left his sister in the hands of his embittered co-worker, heading to the communication room.

* * *

High above the Earth, Mary James was taking a look at the planet below. She may have had the same view for the last 6 months, but it still left Mary breath-taken with the view. When Commander Gordon had assigned her to the research station, she hadn't expected it to be for very long. But looking down at the Earth, even after it had become commonplace for her, left her anticipating the day she went home. Then she'd see her mother, her boyfriend and her pet cat again.  
This train of thought was broken by a technic coming into the room. "Major, we're about to be within communication ranger. Commander Gordon and Private Goodman will be on the line."

"Thank you.", Mary responded. "I'll take the call." And with that, the two left the room, failing to notice the unidentified craft emerging from nowhere.

* * *

"Hello, Space Station Garuda, this is the Nest. Can you hear us?"

It took only a few tries for Mary to reply. "Hello Nest, I am reading you loud and clear. And were they telling the truth when they said that Goodman was on your end?"

"No they were not, Major James.", Mark said taking over. "What's the view like from up there?"

"It's as breathtaking as always, Goodman.", came the reply. "Why don't you come up here and see for yourself?" This was said in a more playful tone.

"I'm afraid that the pigeons might miss me.", he joked back.

But before the conversation could continue, the space station was attacked by the alien ship, sending Mary tumbling. Gordon was about to ask what was happening, but the answer soon presented itself. The screen was filled with an image of a blue armoured creature. When he spoke, it was in a deep, foreboding voice.

"Citizens of Earth, rejoice! I am Marquis Algrin, envoy of the Dominion of Queen Uuhcura. Your planet has been selected to enjoy our generous protection." As he was talking, his image projected itself onto the sky, mirrors, windows, televisions and even somebody's coffee cup. The drinker of said coffee cup wasted no time spitting it out. "In exchange, all we demand is your eternal enslavement and total control of all Earth's mineral deposits. If any think of doubting our power, we shall soon destroy one of your defence satellites." With that said, the image flicked out of existence, as the attack on Garuda continued.

"Mayday! Mayday!", Mary called into the transmitter. "We are under attack by this unknown enemy. We need to make an emergency evacuation."

Mark was terrified, but Gordon remained calm. "Major James, make your way to the Hawk Jet in the hangar. In the event of an emergency, it's set to take off after a 2-minute countdown. When you get back, we can regroup and engage in a counterattack."

Mary made one last response, "Roger.", before heading to the hangar bay. She didn't make it very far, as the station camera showed her being accosted by a group of black-coloured beings. Their leader, a gunmetal robot with a comma shaped head then shot out the camera. The Hawk Jet took off, just as the collapsing station exploded, leaving no evidence it was ever there.

* * *

The projection of Algrin reappeared in the sky of Earth. "Your protectors have fallen. Now my pet shall have his way with this planet." A spectral hand appeared and conjured up a spider-like creature, a Carrionoid. The creature leapt down to Earth, beginning its attack on the civilians.

* * *

Back in the Nest's science lab, Lulu looked on at Wayne, her previous jubilant expressions now gone. "What do we do now?"

"I think I have an idea.", Wayne replied, taking out two sets of wristwatch like devices from a much larger case. "We've been working on an elite fighting force of trans humans, but we never found users for these two. Until now…"

* * *

In the city, the Carrionoid began its attack, absorbing energy from people, causing its tail to enlarge.

Elsewhere, on a farm, a nurse tending to an injured soldier received a call. "Brown, the disaster we've been anticipating has happened sooner than we anticipated."

"Gee, you think?", the nurse replied. Carrie Brown wasn't normally the snarky type, but that communiqué was just asking for it. But at least she was happy that the opportunity to see if her efforts were for something was with them. "I think that Corporal Hartford was at 93% recovery at last check. He can fight, but he might have slight difficulty."

"Understood, Brown.", was Gordon's frustrated reply. "I just hope that you and he both remember your Special Forces training. As of now, both of you are authorised to morph. I'll be sending our third authorised operative to you soon." With that, the transmission was terminated, unaware they had been observed by Algrin.

"Well, well. We can't have that now, can we?", he asked himself, holding out his hand as before. "Bio-Roids! Go forth and destroy." A group of mostly black figures, of the same kind as those who had attacked the station, were spawned from his hand and descended on the farmhouse.

* * *

Back at the Nest, Mark, having allowed himself to register that his girlfriend was probably gone or under enemy captivity, had entered the Hawk Jet and was preparing to take off. Then he noticed a signal at a farmhouse near a quarry. "It's definitely the same as the one that attacked the station. I'll check it out." He launched the Jet and flew it to the quarry, where he saw two people under attack from a spider-like creature and an army of mostly black men, like the ones from the station feed. "Lasers, fire!" The Jet shot at the enemy forces sending, some of them flying. He then jumped out of the Jet, reaching out to touch the secondary bracelet he had been given in addition to his communicator. "Let's Fly!", he called out. The command recognised, the bracelet deployed a suit onto his body, a red suit resembling the Hawk Jet. Spreading the wings the suit had given him, Mark glided down to the ground, taking out a few grunts both before and after actually landing. But it didn't last for long when the Carrionoid attacked him with its tentacles, flooring him.

"We have to help him.", the man insisted.

"And we can.", said the woman. We just need to leap into the air and do what he did." To demonstrate, she pressed a bracelet similar to his and leapt into the air, saying "Let's Fly!" The man followed suit. Within seconds, they had coloured suits of their own; a white swan and a yellow owl. Upon landing, he almost crashed, while she landed gracefully.

Mark looked to the side to see he had helped and ran up to the fallen man. "Nice to see I have help. Now let's take these guys down."

And thus a fight ensued, with the 3 managing to repel the mooks very narrowly (Yellow still had difficulty flying and Shite was too terrified to fight. When Red engaged the Carrionoid in battle, it was too evenly matched for a clear victor to emerge. Eventually, Algrin cut open a hole in the dimensions with his sword, allowing the creature to escape, just as Red collapsed.

"Are you ok?", the White one asked. "And for that matter, who are you?"

Red straightened himself, before demorphing and addressing her. "My name is Mark Goodman. I'm in charge of a covert fighting team, which you two are also members of. And believe me, that was only the beginning of our problems."

* * *

So this came about as a result of a desire to see more adaptations of pre-zyu sentai. To clarify, White and Yellow are Carrie and Corporal Hartford.

Please note that there will be a good number of episodes that i dont plan to tackle on my own. If you want to know which, PM me and i'll tell you the ones i am adapting. If you desire, you will also be allowed to contribute your own chapter based on one of my unintended episodes.


	2. On A Wing… Part 2

Aboard the Dominion lair ship, Algrin was fuming over his recent defeat. Behind him was the ship's junior technical officer Fwelf, a cloaked member of a dwarfish humanoid race. "Curse those humans. I try to demoralise them and they still manage to cause damage to my Carrionoid."

It was then that they were joined by the third member of their crew, a gunmetal gray robot named Galvahex. He had just returned from the attack on Space Station Garuda. "Lord Algrin. The Queen has sent an emissary to oversee our conquest of Earth. The Princess Halatia. Should I allow her entry?"

"Of course you should, you infernal mechanoid." All turned towards the new voice in the room. Princess Halatia walked forward to join them. "I am the crown princess of the Dominion and your future ruler. It would be very unwise to cross me." Then she stepped fully into their view. They saw a humanoid woman, dark hair braided into a ponytail, wearing a white uniform with a black under suit, a large spike on her left shoulder pointing upwards and a much smaller spike on the back of her right shoulder, pointing downwards. To complete the look, she had an almost comically large hat and a sceptre held in her right hand.

Fwelf was confused as to the identity of the newcomer. "Wait, I didn't know that the Queen has sired a -".

Algrin moved to interrupt his subordinate. "You'll have to forgive him, your highness. He hails from one of your royal mother's frontier worlds, where news of the Dominion's personal affairs are slow to arrive. He meant no offence."

"And none has been taken in return.", the Princess replied. "Now then, I understand that your Carrionoid was matched in combat with a human. Surely the fact you have a learning robot on your crew means that this should have been averted based on previous reviews of your conquests."

"Ah, but I didn't send the Carrionoid to conquer Earth.", Algrin countered. He then signaled for Fwelf to teleport the creature into the flight deck. Once it was on deck, he reached into it's mouth and pulled out bugs. "I sent it because this particular Carrionoid is a bug-mother. They've been genetically modified to birth these Mutasects, which can take anything inanimate and reshape it into a shell for its own protection. Your average bug-mother can create over 40 Mutasects through a small amount of energy."

Halatia seemed impressed. "If they are destroyed, there is a still a victory to be had. We will have potentially destroyed something valuable to one of the humans in the process. Perhaps you'd like to send a pair of them down right now."

Algrin nodded. "As you wish, your Highness."

* * *

Back in the quarry, Carrie had just finished listening to the pilot named Mark's explanation of the situation. "So an alien empire has come to Earth, wiped out our orbital research station and all its crew, including your girlfriend, and now he's after us because we have these bracelets which let us change into these suits?"

Mark nodded. "The Commander calls the process "morphing", kind of like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. She also called our project's results "Flying Rangers", though I don't know why. We have most of the arsenal assembled and ready for use." He was about to direct them to base, but then something occurred to him. "I'm sorry, I didn't ask your names."

"I'm Carrie, Carrie Brown. This man is my charge, Steven Hartford. He and I were conscripted to this project two years ago, but then he went to fight overseas and suffered severe damage to his reflexes. I've been looking after him since then, by using some basic medical training."

"Can you take us to base, Mark?", Steven asked. But before he could receive an answer, an alert sounded on Mark's communicator, which he answered.

After listening to the message, Mark gave his answer. "I'm sorry, something's come up that I have to respond to. Wait around here and wait for that thing to come back. If they really want us taken out, they'll come back after you two. I'm the only other active member of this project." With that he leapt up into the Hawk Flyer and jetted off.

* * *

Back at the Nest, Lulu had been fitted with a set of apparatus and given a set of weapons by Wayne. "So, Dr. Burley, what do you have against my brother?", she decided to ask.

"What makes you think I have anything against Pilot Goodman?", Wayne asked dismissively. "Let's just concentrate on making sure you're properly synced up for using the Flying Ranger hardware."

"You just seems to have some sort of pre-existing hostility when we first met.", was the response. As Lulu said this, she expertly pulled out and used the Wing Saber to slash a holographic target. Lulu noticed it looked similar to the Dominion's black-suited foot-soldiers, but said nothing.

Wayne sighed. "Well if you really must know, he and I were both in the same training regiment. Both of us were doing well at the courses, until that day. Goodman was put in charge of the squad and gave us orders for an advance on the enemy regiment. But they were expecting our arrival and I barely got out of there with extensive nerve damage in my right arm." He then slammed his hand on the table. "I had to drop out of the practical military, in favour of becoming a science guy. While your brother became a pilot without so much as a reprimand."

Lulu had by now moved onto the gun, having tested a gauntlet known as the Sky Enforcer. "I don't think he meant you any particular malice. You probably just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time." A beep from the machine interrupted their conversation, as a sheet of paper was printed out.

Wayne picked up the sheet and read it. "According to this, your compatibility with the Blue Ranger bear is only a 0.003% chance of incompatibility. In other words, you're just an authorisation from the Commander short of joining the project.

Before he could go to do so, an alert sounding, with a voice sounding over the PA. "Emergency! Emergency! The unknown creature has reappeared in the city and resumed its attack. All personnel are to focus on co-ordinating evac efforts."

Lulu immediately pushed open a window. "We don't have time to authorise me now. I've got to help." She pressed the button on the bracelet and morphed. She was now dressed in a blue version of the Ranger uniform with a swallow motif. She then jumped out of the window and took flight.

Wayne punched the table again. "I'd best go get her back. If something happens to her or that bracelet, then I'm done for either way."

* * *

Up in the sky, a jet plane was flying towards the scene where the Carrionoid had been seen. But en route, a Mutasect was transported onto the hull, before merging its body into the hull. The plane began shaking erratically, before forcibly ejecting its occupant. It then warped a pair of arms into existence and began dogfighting the incoming Hawk Flier.

"Whoah", Mark yelled. "So they've either implemented a series of self-flying planes that have gone wrong," the mutating jet began hurtling down towards the ground "or this is something these aliens can do to destabilise us. I'd better check it out." As he flew off in pursuit of the mutating jet, Algrin appeared on top of a nearby condemned building.

"Dogfight should keep those humans occupied for a while.", he said with a devious grin. Then he placed a second Mutasect onto the building. "All while my real plan can go ahead."

* * *

Back near the quarry, Carrie and Steven had caught up to the Carrionoid, which was spitting something into a dimensional tear. "What do you suppose it's doing?", Steven asked.

"Who knows, it's probably sending back a report of what it's been doing here.", was Carrie's reply. Before they could go out and intercept the creature in its task, a fourth ranger, wearing a blue outfit flew down and pointed at the creature, yelling "Alright you freak, if you think you're going to take over our planet, then think again. Because I'm here to stop you."

The Carrionoid turned around in response, showing off a humanoid woman in white on the other side. She didn't look pleased. "So you're one of the warriors trying to thwart our habitation of your planet. Let's see how your pitiful attempts at resistance do against our Bio-roids." Sure enough, an army of Bio-roids appeared and began attacking her.

Carrie and Steven instantly morphed and jumped out of their hiding place to join in their new ally. "Oh real bright of you, just announce your presence to the enemy before attacking.", Carrie snarked to the newcomer. "Do they not teach people the value of surprise attacks?"

"To be fair, I'm new to this whole hero thing.", the blue ranger replied. Carrie could make out that it was a teenage girl's voice. "I just got out of an aptitude test for this gear. Let's see if it actually works as well in the field." She pulled the sword out of her holster. "Wing Saber!" She began swinging it at the Bio-roids, taking out large swathes of them.

Carrie nodded at the girl. "Why didn't I think of that? Let's use our weapons against these freaks." She pulled out her gun from its holster. "Beak Blaster!" She launched a couple of shots at the enemy, sending them flying.

Steven nodded. "I'll try it too." He swung his right arm in a pattern which summoned a gauntlet onto it. "Sky Enforcer!" He used the Enforcer to launch a flurry of punches at the Bio-roids.

* * *

On the Dominion's bridge, Princess Halatia was furious with Galvahex. "Why didn't you tell us there was a blue warrior? You were supposed to gather information about the Darth's defenders so we could counter them."

"There was information about a blue warrior, as well as a black one.", the robot replied. "But our data source indicated that they were not yet activated when we attacked the station. Furthermore, this one's voice isn't in the information extracted."

"That isn't good.", the Princess responded. "For all we know, this one could be the most powerful of the Earth's defenders. She will need to be watched with a close eye."

* * *

Elsewhere, Wayne was looking around for Lulu. "Where could she have gone? She can't be that far away from the base by now. She just got the Ranger powers." Before his search could go much further, he was apprehended by Matt and Eddie.

"Hands up, dude. Give us all your cash and we'll let you go.", Matt said.

"Oh it's you two.", Wayne moaned, clearly annoyed to recognise these two. "You're those two that failed the training course just before I had to drop out. If you want my money, you'll be disappointed to know I don't carry any with me to work."

Eddie was momentarily disappointed, until he eyed the bracelet on Wayne's wrist. "Well if you ain't got no cash, then I guess we gotta - JET!", he yelled, pointing upwards and running away.

Matt was confused. "Why did he decide we have to jet all of a sudden?" His question soon answered itself, when a fighter jet with a pair of arms on it picked up the guy he was trying to rob.

"Yoink!", the jet growled as he flew away, bursting into maniacal laughter.

"This place is definitely getting weird.", Matt commented before turning and running back home to his grandma's house.

* * *

In the sky, Mark noticed that not only was the mutant jet coming back, he now had a hostage. A hostage Mark knew too well. "Oh no.", he commented, before turning on his loudspeaker. "Hang in there, Wayne!"

"That's not funny.", came the response. "Just wait until I can get myself clear until you do anything."

"What do you mean "get yourself clear"?", Dogfight asked. But instead of answering, Wayne managed to free his arms enough to reach his bracelet.

"Let's Fly!", he called into the bracelet. The signal received, Wayne transformed into the final Flying Ranger, a black-suited warrior with a condor motif. As he broke free and went into free fall, Mark managed to land a hit on Dogfight, causing him to crash.

* * *

Wayne landed in the quarry, followed shortly after by Mark. "Congratulations, man. You managed to get authorised to become a Ranger."

Wayne quickly became nervous. "Yeah, about that…." But before he could continue, the Jet-creature climbed out of his crater and loomed over the two, now fully transformed into a monster.

"You puny creatures may have escaped from my grip, but now I'm going to crush you myself.", it declared.

But Mark noticed a small crack in the creature's body, out of which fuel was leaking. "You might have to consider getting a patch job first. That is, if they ever bother to fix you up." He pulled out and aimed his Beak Blaster at the leaking area, causing Dogfight to explode, leaving nothing but a burnt out Mutasect.

"Nice work guys.", the two heard Carrie's voice call out. Sure enough, Mark and Wayne turned around to see the other three Rangers. "We saw you come down and thought we could help, but you seemed to have it covered."

It was then that Mark noticed the Blue Ranger. "Who's she?", he asked.

The voice he heard replying wasn't what he expected. "Big bro, it's me. Lulu. Wayne gave me one of the bracelets and put me through the simulator."

"What?", Mark said with some subtle anger directed towards Wayne.

"I thought your team could stand to be complete with these aliens attacking us. And since I had no time to actually find any more candidates, and since Lulu told me she was a green belt in mixed martial arts, I decided to sign us both up for it without telling anyone."

As if on cue, the Carrionoid reappeared and latched it's tentacles around Steven's neck. "Ah, help me! That thing is going to kill me."

"Aim for the neck with your Beak Blaster.", Mark instructed.

Steven nodded and aimed his Blaster at the creature, shooting it and causing it to let it go.

"Alright, let's combine the Beak Blasters with the Wing Sabers.", Mark instructed. Lulu, Carrie and Steven nodded and did as instructed, sliding their Sabers into the Blasters.

"Hyper Cannons! Fire!" The four fires their combined weapons at the creature, knocking it back. However, it survived and managed to open a portal. "It didn't work.", Lulu commented. "We need all 5 to fire at once."

"She's right.", Mark added, turning to Wayne. "Why didn't you help us?"

"You really expect me to listen to you again?", Wayne said bitterly. "After what happened the last time?" He was still bitter at what had happened during the training regimen."

Mark sighed. "Look, what happened to you wasn't my fault. HQ gave me the orders to give you bad instructions. They were trying to test what would happen if we were compromised and given false information. It was a trust exercise meant to teach us to trust no-one in an emergency. I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

Wayne was taken aback by this, realising that he had wasted time with a petty unfounded grudge. "Alright, let's do this." He assembled his Hyper Cannon. "Fire!"

With all 5 firing, the tear exploded, taking the Carrionoid with it. With this done, Algrin appeared in front of them. "Congratulations, the 5 of you have taken out both my bug-mother and one of its children. But let's see how you do against my second creature, Sky Scrapper." With a bout of evil laughter, he vanished. The 5 then turned around to see that, indeed, a giant skyscraper monster was attacking the city power plant with a mace.

"How do we fight that thing?", Carrie asked.

"By using our vehicles.", Wayne commented. "Just press the right button on your left arm bracelets. They'll come to you."

"Alright.", Mark responded, doing so. The others then did what he did, causing a voice to emit from the bracelet.

**Vehicle Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Take off! Go, GO!**

The 5 Vehicles, Hawk Flier, Condor Zoom, Owl Jet, Swan Sonic and Swallow Plane flew into the fray, with the 5 being teleported into their cockpits.

"Alright, let's combine the 5 into one.", Mark said over the radio, taking a chip from one of his bracelets and plugging it into the console.

"Let's do it.", the other 4 replied, doing likewise with their chips. The computerised voice in the bracelets began again.

**Action Shift, On! Flier, Zoom, Jet, Sonic, Plane! Combine! Icarus Megazord Go, GO!**

""Megazord?"", Steven said, confused. "Is that even a word?"

"I don't know, but the Commander insisted I call it that.", Wayne answered.

The Condor and the Swan transformed into arms, the Owl and the Swallow transformed into legs and the Hawk became a torso. After the 5 combined, a head emerged from the torso. In the cockpit, a pair of control levers emerged from Mark's consoles. "Icarus Megazord, assembly complete!"

The Megazord engaged with Sky Scrapper in combat, quickly gaining the upper hand and flooring the colossal creature.

Mark activated one of the weapons installed in the robot. "Talon Sickle!" The Megazord deployed a sickle and used it to slash Sky Scrapper.

"Nice hit.", Wayne commented. "But let's see what mine can do. Flying Knuckle!" The right fist detached and flew into Sky Scrapper knocking him down.

"Let's end this. Icarus Saber!" Mark pressed the button to deploy the Saber. The Megazord then leaped into the air and executed a flurry of slashes, which destroyed Sky Scrapper.

* * *

Back on their ship, Algrin's crew were debating their new adversaries among themselves.

"So we now have to face a full team of 5 Flying Rangers.", Fwelf observed. "This should make things far more interesting."

"Indeed.", Galvahex added. "Our data identifies the final warrior as Wayne Burley, a scientist attached to the project. He has a deep seated grudge against the Red Ranger, Mark Goodman. We can use this to add to our fun."

Princess Halatia wasn't as enthusiastic as the other two. "These humans are a threat to our operation conquer Earth. And you're treating them like a sport to overcome."

"Let them have their fun, your highness.", Algrin suggested. "Our past invasions have been so by the numbers that their enthusiasm for it has waned due to the cliches. At least these "Rangers" will give us some fun on this planet.

* * *

Back at the Nest, Commander Goodman was dressing down her new team. "I know that some of you doubted the purpose of our operation. I know some of you have had your differences with each other. And I know that some of you morphed without proper authorisation or recognition." Wayne and Lulu looked particularly ashamed in regards to those last two points. "However, beneath that, I see the makings of a great team. One who can turn their differences and weaknesses into strengths. We have won the first skirmish with our enemy, but rest assured, there will be more. Until the day that we defeat them and save this planet, then we must keep fighting as the Flying Rangers. Good work out there, team. Report back here tomorrow to begin your training." This last part was said in a must quieter tone, exclusively aimed at Lulu.

Lulu was shocked by what that meant. "Training? Does that mean -?"

"Welcome to the project.", Mark answered for her. "You wanted to follow in my footsteps and now you can."


	3. Mixed Signals

3 days after their defeat of Dogfight, the Carrionoid bug-mother and Sky Scrapper, the Rangers had begun advanced training for their vehicles. While they had used them once, it had been while the vehicles were on autopilot. Now they were trying without autopilot in the event that more creative combo attacks were needed.

Steven in the Owl Jet was the first to try out his special feature. While he had some fighting experience from his time in the Gulf War, he had no experience with flying vehicles. Thankfully, the Owl Jet was relatively simple to operate. "Alright. Deploying Talon Claw.", he announced. The Jet deployed a large claw which picked up a boulder from the quarry.

In the Swallow Plane, Lulu was also preparing her special feature. Unlike Steven, she had at least some knowledge of complex air vehicles. Mark had given her some explanations of the equipment he had to work with in flight. She had been paying attention in case she decided on a career in the Air Force. "Activating Bomber formation." The wings detached from the Swallow, causing it to go into free fall. The wings then spun around like a boomerang, which slashed a series of silos before returning to the main body, making it airborne again. "This is sweet."

Wayne was the next to use the Condor Zoom's ability. "Not bad, but look at what mine can stand up to." Sure enough, his vehicle crashed through several targets, coming out entirely without a scratch.

"Alright, let's help Carrie test out Swan Sonic's lasers.", Steven suggested, dangling his boulder over her vehicle.

"Okay," Carrie said nervously "let's see if I can do this." However, her long buried fear of heights, sustained from an incident where she ended up stuck up a tree in her garden as a child, suddenly got the better of her. "Oh god, I'm struggling to see it. It's coming too close." She tried shooting, but in her panic, none of the lasers hit their target.

"Hang in there, Carrie.", Mark yelled, flying in to hit the boulder with his own lasers, hitting the boulder and destroying it. "Carrie, are you okay? What happened out there?"

* * *

A few hours later, Carrie was sitting alone in her house. She had explained her problems to the Commander and had in turn been given time off to think about a way to get over her phobia.

"Until you can stay up in the air without freezing up, we can't have you on this team." Even now, the words were ringing in her ears. Then she snapped out back to reality, noticing that her phone really was ringing. She moved to answer it. "Hello, this is the Brown residence. Who may I be speaking to?" Her parents had paid for elocution lessons when she was young and she always used them when on the phone.

"Caroline, it's your father." Carrie was taken aback by this. Her father never called. Not since she had been thrown out of the house 4 years ago. "Can I talk with you later today?"

Carrie was intrigued by his offer. "Where would you like to meet, considering that you've never actually visited me since I moved to Winter Valley?"

"I've found a quaint little cafe on the upper end of the town.", came the response. "It's called the "Café Ai". Do you know where that is?"

"I'm familiar with it.", Carrie answered. "Don't bother sending me a car. I can make my own way there." With that, she rung off before he could say anything else. She was not in a mood to continue the conversation right now. Even if it was for the first time since her mother passed away that she would be seeing her father.

* * *

Aboard their ship, Galvahex was discussing his latest idea to the others. "With the loss of our Carrionoid, we must conserve our supply of Mutasects by only using one at a time."

"And how do you suggest we go about making effective use of this method?", Princess Halatia asked.

"By selecting a host we think could be effective.", he responded. Then he played an image of a traffic pileup in the city. "Human vehicles are incapable of moving without coloured signals sent from a machine. When the signal changes colours, the vehicles of the common humans either move or stop."

Algrin realised what he was talking about. "So if we can weaponise these signals and use them against humanity, their society will crumble within a few days."

"In theory yes.", Galvahex said in response. "All I need to do is test my hypothesis."

"And what about the Flying Rangers?", Halatia asked. "Surely you don't think they'll just sit back and watch as their society crumbles apart."

Galvahex turned around to her. "As a matter of fact your highness, I was hoping you could help me with that."

* * *

Back on Earth, Carrie was riding on a bus to the cafe her father was waiting for her at. She was thinking about all that she had been through today. Both things she held with the utmost fear, heights and her father, had found their way into her life. And despite having signed on to an agency trying to SAVE THE WORLD, she had been suspended. She had to wonder if fate was playing some cruel trick on her.

As if on cue, the bus screeched to a halt, pushing her forwards into a glass screen. "Sorry about that folks, but an unexpected incident has caused Traffic to pile up. Please be patient while we try to fix the situation."

Carrie didn't have time to be patient. "I'm sorry, I have somewhere to be." She gave some money to the driver. "Keep the change.", she yelled back as she got off the bus and ran to her father, failing to notice that the traffic light was blinking.

* * *

At the Nest, a technician noticed something on his radar. "Commander, we've picked up a signal in the city, almost identical to the two monsters that appeared the other day."

"Another Mutasect.", Commander Gordon muttered. "Alert the Goodmans, Hartford and Burley of the danger. The Dominion are on the move again."

"Should I alert Brown as well?", the operator asked.

Gordon thought for a moment then decided. "No. She's still not ready to return to the field yet. The 4 of them will have to do."

* * *

One communique later, the 4 Rangers leapt down into the scene, where a monster mutated from a traffic light was standing, surrounded by a group of Bio-roids. "Well I guess we should GO and STOP this thing from rampaging.", Lulu joked.

"You just made that up there and then, didn't you?", Wayne asked.

"Hey guys, I'm over here.", the monster pointed out. "Bio-roids, get 'em."

The 4 Rangers made quick work of the Bio-roids and pointed their Beak Blasters at the monster. "This was almost too easy.", Steven commented.

"Red Light!", the monster yelled. A beam shot from his eyes, hitting the blasters and causing them to freeze up.

"You just had to say it, didn't you Steven?", Mark tutted.

Wayne pulled out his Wing Saber. "Let's try a different tact then." He ran towards the monster to attack, only to be blocked.

The one who had blocked the attack was Galvahex, who was accompanied by Halatia. "You will not be allowed to attack Signaltron. Not until he has carried out his objective."

None of the Rangers recognised the robot, except for Mark. "You! You're the one that attacked the station!"

After a few seconds of thinking, the robot remembered. "Ah yes, your girlfriend was in charge of that station. My apologies for taking her away from you, but the Garuda was a threat we could not afford to allow to exist."

Angered at this, Mark charged in to attack, only for something mysterious to teleport him away. Wayne, Steven and Lulu were shocked at this, only to be attacked by Halatia. "Now that he's gone, the 3 of you are all mine."

But Wayne ignored her, instead leaping in to face Galvahex. "What do your records tell you about me, metal-head?" As the robot began to scan his memory, Wayne landed a couple of hits on him, before Galvahex reacted.

"According to my data, you haven't engaged in any combat activities for a good few months. There is no data on you. But I am gathering it from our battle here."

The battle between the two continued for a while, until Wayne managed to get the upper hand on Galvahex. "Alright, show me what you did to Mark and how I can follow him."

A few feet away, Lulu and Steven likewise managed to get Princess Halatia knocked onto her back. "So you two on your own are enough to defeat the Princess of the Dominion.", she noted.

(In the Nest command centre, Commander Gordon, who was listening in over a private radio frequency, seemed shocked to hear this.)

Halatia got herself up. "We'll meet again, Rangers. Next time you won't be so lucky." She teleported away, taking Galvahex with her, but not before he gave Wayne a black box with a button on it.

* * *

At the cafe, Carrie had managed to get there while her father was still there. She sighed internally. She knew that Daniel Brown didn't tolerate anyone being late for anything, even his own family members. "So I came to this place, like you asked.", she said.

"I can see that.", Daniel Brown responded. "Now listen, do you know why I called you here today?"

"I don't know and I don't particularly care.", Carrie answered. "After all, you did kick me out to fend for myself when I wanted to go into the military."

"I only did that because I was concerned for your safety.", he said defensively. "After I lost your mother, I was afraid of losing you too. When you insisted on it even when I forbade it, I decided to force the issue by pushing you away." His head seemed to waiver. "Then this Alien appeared threatening to kill us all and that's when I had a realisation. I didn't want to die alone. I'm not asking you for forgiveness. I'm just asking that you consider trying to restart a relationship."

Carrie was taken aback at this. Of all the reasons for her father to visit, she hadn't expected him to try and repair their relationship. Even more shocking, he sounded totally honest about his intentions, which was no mean feat for a businessman. "Father, I -".

But before she could continue, her communicator beeped. "Carrie, it's Lulu. There's a traffic light creature attacking the city." Carrie was shocked at this, realising that accident causing her bus to get stuck wasn't an accident. "We'd handle it ourselves, but this Princess from the Dominion showed up with her robot and sent Mark somewhere. Wayne's gone after him. You go on ahead and find it, and we'll catch up when we can." The message ended there.

Carrie stood up after hearing this. She turned to her father and said "I'm sorry. I have to go and help my friends."  
Her father put his hand on her shoulder. "I understand, dear. Just stay safe."

Carrie turned around after gently taking his hand off. When she was out of his range, she tapped her change bracelet and said "Let's Fly!" With a flash of light, she was transformed into the White Ranger and launched herself into the air. It took her a few seconds to notice that she was flying very high up without feeling any fear. "I guess reconciling with Father helped me get over my fear of flying. Either that or the fact that people in danger. I'll have to see for myself later."

* * *

Elsewhere, Mark woke up, still transformed, to find himself in a black void filled with mist. Standing opposite him was a figure, that although he hadn't spoken with him personally, he knew him all too well. "Algrin."

"So nice to know my reputation proceeds me.", the Alien said, with a smug undertone. "Stand up, Red Ranger. I wish to see for myself the full extent of your combat prowess." He pulled out his sword and engaged in combat with Mark. Both managed to lock swords and deal hits at about the same rate as each other. "Ah, so this is the strength that humans possess."

"No, just me and my team.", Mark responded. "We've had our bodies augmented with these powers so that we can fight threats like you."

Algrin smiled. "Ah yes, I've encountered a few warriors like you on my conquests. Capable of using a strange and unknown biological field to augment your bodies for combat. And the ones I've taken down, have allowed me to use that power in my body." With this declared, Algrin's body began convulsing as a transformation similar to the Rangers' morphing began. However, this was less smooth, with the finished result resembling a misshapen goblin, with the only remaining features of Algrin being his skin and his sword. "Now let's see how much your power is worth now."

The fight continued, with Algrin now gaining the upper hand and flooring Mark. Before he could land the final blow, Wayne intervened and distracted him at a crucial moment. He picked up his teammate and put his arm around his shoulder. "Come on, Mark. Let's get out of here." Wayne hauled Mark out, returning to where they were and causing the teleported Galvahex had given him to short-circuit.

Mark managed to recover quickly. "Thanks, Wayne. I was almost a goner in there."

"Don't think too much of it.", Wayne responded. "We need to help Carrie with Signaltron."

* * *

In the quarry, Carrie had located Signaltron and was engaging him in combat. She deployed her Sky Enforcer and punched he monster head on. "How do you like this?", she said as the hit knocked him back.

"I don't like it much at all.", Signaltron replied.

"Good.", Carrie said. "Then this feature won't be much better for you. Blast Mode!" The Enforcer fired a beam of energy at Signaltron, sending him staggering backwards. It was then that the other 4 Rangers dropped down from the sky. "Good timing, guys. I've got this thing on the ropes."

Mark nodded. "Alright, let's finish him with the Hyper Cannons."

But after they had inserted the Wing Sabers into the Beak Blasters, Signaltron spoke up. "I appreciate your generous offer, but I've already absorbed enough kinetic energy to do this." Then the Mutasect on his leg began glowing, causing his whole body to grow to giant size.

"They can grow like that?", Steven said, terrified.

"I guess dropping a nuke on them wouldn't be a good idea.", Lulu added.

"Apparently so.", Mark answered. "But luckily, we have big guns to call in." He began pressing buttons on his communicator.

**Action Shift, on! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Take off! Go, GO! **

The five vehicles soon flew into the area, with the Rangers diving in. "Alright, guys. Let's show him what we were practising earlier.", Mark said.

"I'll go first.", Steven insisted. "Claw Talon!" The Owl Jet picked up a boulder with its claw and threw this at Signaltron, sending him reeling.

"Ow, that hurt.", the traffic light creature moaned.

Lulu went next. "Don't like that? Here's something much worse. Bomber Mode!" The wings of the Swallow Plane detached and spun towards the monster as a boomerang, returning to the free-falling main body after hitting its target.

Then Mark and Wayne started spinning their vehicles around and firing. Hawk Condor Whirlwind Attack!" The flurry of lasers hit Signaltron sending him backwards.

"Alright," Mark declared "let's try something new." He pressed the same buttons on his communicator, but in a different order.

**Combo Shift, on! Swallow! Owl! Condor! Swan! Hawk! Combine! Icarus Bomber, Go, GO!**

The five vehicles combined into a large vehicle, similar in shape to a stealth bomber. It then surrounded itself with fire and crashed into Signaltron, destroying him.

* * *

Back aboard their mothership, the Dominion commanders were still reeling from their loss.

"Take it easy, Master Algrin.", Fwelf said, tending to his superior. "You know that morphing isn't good for your body. You do it too much and I'm worried for your safety."

Algrin cringed in pain again. "I know that, you imbecile. Every time I use the power, I have to spend a few days recuperating. Which means that, loathe as I am to admit it, you and Galvahex will have to take your orders from Princess Halatia while I'm out." With that said, he collapsed into unconsciousness.

And speaking of the Princess, she was angrily listening to Galvahex's report. "It would seem that while Signaltron's abilities were effective, his willingness to utilise them effectively was somewhat lacking. This will need to be rectified."

"Oh really?", the Princess said indignantly. "You know what else needs to be rectified? Your knowledge of the Rangers. You said that Goodman and Burley had it in for each other." Before she could continue, she was hit by a brief flash of memory. It showed two men, one a solider, one a scientist, arguing with each other. Both seemed human, but she knew that couldn't possibly be true. Could it?"

"With respect your Highness, I doubt that my source of information was fallible. It is more likely that the two have actually managed to settle their differences and make up. Something humans want to do when their continued existence depends on it."

Halatia scowled at this. "If that is the case, then we'll have to find another way to dismantle the Ranger team."

* * *

Back on Earth, with the vehicles once more stored away and the team debriefed, Carrie decided to share the details of her day with her teammates. "All of them were surprised. "I didn't know you had such a rocky relationship with your dad.", Lulu said. "I mean, I never even knew mine, so I can't say I sympathise fully."

"It's okay, Lulu.", Carrie replied. "I talked it out with him and we're willing to try and start over again. And you know what? I'm kinda glad I did. Getting over my fear of reconnecting helped me to overcome my fear of heights. After all, if I can solve one problem, the anything else is just the same thing, but with a different level of effort."


	4. Crystal Clear

The Winter Valley Museum closes every day at 21:30 every day, on the dot. Not a minute earlier or later, even on Sundays. When it closes, the lights are turned off, the laser grid is activated and the skyline and doors are secured behind deplorable bars. A guard is left on duty to monitor the security cameras. This routine has become even more crucial in recent days, due to the museum's acquisition of a rare diamond, believed to be worth over 400 million. If they lost that to thieves, the loss of their investment would be disastrous.

Unfortunately for the museum, Matt and Eddie has decided to try their hands at robbing them of the diamond. Using an impromptu trampoline to make their way onto the roof and a hacksaw to cut their way through the roof, the two Air Force washouts soon found their way to the diamond room. Before they could break the door down and steal it, Eddie decided to ask a question. "So remind me again why we're trying to steal this bad boy."

"It's because I hate these establishments, always insisting that we look at objects instead of using them to help ourselves.", Matt replied, in a weird mix of yelling and whispering. "If we steal this diamond from them, then they lose so much they go out of business. And we can then sell the diamond and use the 400000 dollars to help other people like us."

"Sounds great.", Eddie said, giving a thumbs up. "So all we have to do is bust this door down, grab the rock and get the heck out of dodge."

But upon kicking the door down (almost literally), Matt and Eddie found themselves face to face with a woman. She was dressed in what looked to them like a supervillain costume and in the process of placing a large black insect on the diamond, which had had its case cut into. She turned towards the source of the disturbance, a threatening look on her face. "You two…!", she said, having a brief flash of recognition, which quickly dispersed. She then picked up her weapon and pointed it at them. "What are you two nincompoops doing here?"

Matt and Eddie suddenly became terrified, fearing that this lady could probably kill them with that thing. "Chill lady, we were just trying to take that new diamond the museum picked up. But if you want to take it, we'll just back out and claim we were never here."

"I'm not interested in taking the diamond from this building.", the woman responded, placing the bug onto the gem in question. "But I am interested in using it for an experiment to take this planet for my mother." The gem then blasted the two would-be thieves with a beam. "You two can be my first test subjects."

Suddenly, Matt and Eddie stood up and composed themselves. "What were we thinking?", Matt asked. "This diamond is important to this museum's future wellbeing."

"We would be awful people for stealing it.", Eddie added.

Princess Halatia observed her recent victims. "So, the first test confirms that Crystallia can convert negative impulses into positive ones. But I still need to know if the reverse is true." As she said this, a security guard came into the room, in response to the commotion.

"What's going on here? Who are you?" But before the man could get any answers, he was blasted with Crystallia's rays, promptly breaking out into an evil laugh. "You can do whatever the heck you want. I'm getting out of this joint for some real work: committing crimes." With that, he immediately ran out of the room.

"Oh dear, we can't allow him to do that.", Matt yelled, dragging Eddie with him after the guard. Halatia smiled at her handiwork, as the Mutasect-infected gem spoke for the first time.

"Mistress," it said "is now the time for me to go out and spread my gifts?"

"No.", the Princess replied. "You need to wait here until one of the Flying Rangers investigates this incident. Until then, remain in the display case."

* * *

The next day at the Goodman residence, Lulu woke up and turned on the news, only to be shocked by what she saw. She immediately got her brother out of bed and dragged him to see what the report was discussing.

"…last night, as normally dedicated museum night guard Clayton Roberts was arrested for trying to rob a bank. This attempt was thwarted thanks to a tip from local youths Matthew Lewis and Edgar Howell."

"Aren't those the two you beat up on the day Algrin and his lackeys showed up?", Lulu asked.

"They are.", was Mark's response. "This doesn't seem right. If anything, Matt and Eddie would rob that bank themselves, not blow the whistle on someone else's efforts. Not to mention I know that museum guard. He wouldn't do something like this."

Lulu was surprised to hear this. "You know that guy? How?"

"Mary's mother is one of the museum's main investors. She'd often take me there to show me the exhibits, explaining why Mrs. James was so keen to keep it alive for future generations. She even introduced me to some of the staff." Mark decided to go back upstairs to his bedroom. "We need to contact the others. See if this could potentially be another plan by the Dominion."

As he walked out of the room, Lulu began moaning. "That'll take too long. What if something else happens with this case?" Then she had an idea. "Then I guess it'd be up to the Blue Ranger to find out what's going on."

* * *

Aboard their ship, the Princess was explaining her plan to Fwelf and Galvahex. Algrin was still unconscious from his attempt to transform. "Humans waste their time with items they consider valuable. If we take something like that and turn it against them, it will show them the folly of placing such reverence on these items."

Fwelf was annoyed at her taking charge. "I'm sorry your highness, but who put you in charge exactly?"

Galvahex stepped forward and replayed a recording of Algrin's voice. "Loath as I am to admit, but you'll have to take orders from the Princess while I'm out." Galvahex then turned to Fwelf. "You seem to forget, I have a linkup with every device on this station, some of which have recording devices."

"See.", the Princess snarked. "Some of you do have intelligent thoughts of your own. Crystallia's ability to invert people's personalities and impulses will bring about the end of their society. Loving parents will abandon their children, doctors will allow their patients to suffer, peacemakers will… well you get the idea."

Fwelf merely pouted. "I suppose you've also figured out a way to use this against those Rangers as well."

"Indeed I have.", Halatia said in response. "When they show up to try and investigate, they'll find that they've turned evil."

* * *

At the nest, Commander Gordon was comparing images of the space station's personnel to images of the Princess. She had just found something shocking, when she received a communique from Mark. "What is it, Goodman? I'm in the middle of something important."

"Sorry to bother you, but I have something that may be of interest.", came the voice over the other end. "People in the city are having their personalities do a 180 out of nowhere. As in, things that not even hypnosis would make them do."

Gordon immediately switched off the computer and responded. "You think that the Dominion have something new planned?"

"I'm almost sure of it."

"In that case, I'll send the others to your co-ordinates.", Gordon decided. "If the Dominion's are up to something, then it's imperative that we stop it quickly." She then turned off the communicator and finished that thought. "Before you discover the awful truth about Princess Halatia."

* * *

At the museum, the Blue Ranger descended down to the rooftop, finding the hole that had been left in the roof last night. "Guess I'm not the only one who decided they couldn't wait for opening hours then.", she commented. "Well, who am I to ignore a perfectly good entranceway?" She dropped down through the hole and noticed the footprints, comparing their direction to a map on the wall. "It appears that they were going in the general direction of either the new diamond or the gift shop. And since I doubt there's anything worth stealing in a gift shop, the diamond room it is then." And so she made her way to the diamond room, finding the case had been cut into, but the diamond itself was untouched. "Why would someone cut open the case, but not actually take the diamond? Something doesn't add up."

It was then that the diamond began shaking, before transforming into Crystallia. The Blue Ranger was momentarily shocked, but she then leaped forward to attack. But before she could, Crystallia blasted her with her rays. "There, there. You don't want to hurt me Blue Ranger? We're both on the same team here, aren't we?"

"Yes we are.", the Blue Ranger replied, her voice now much raspier. "Why was I helping keep this pitiful dump of a planet safe, when I could've been helping the Dominion to conquer it?"

"Very good, Crystallia.", Princess Halatia commented, appearing as if by magic. "You've managed to get one of the Rangers on our side. Now you just have to reunite her with her teammates."

"Yes, and it will be a very short reunion.", Lulu added, a devious grin forming beneath her helmet.

* * *

Elsewhere, the other 4 Rangers met up to discuss the situation. "You think that something affected all three of them at the same time?", Steven asked.

"Yes, and knowing Matt and Eddie, it was likely something valuable at the museum.", Mark said in response.

Wayne was having doubts. "That could be anything at that place. How would we know where to start looking?"

It was then that Carrie noticed something coming towards them. "Maybe it's that diamond monster heading towards us."

As they turned around, Crystallia fired lasers at them, which sent them flying back. "The Dominion must have used that new diamond exhibit for their scheme.", Wayne realised.

"Well now that we know what they used, now all we have to do is get it back. Let's ranger up.", Mark added. The others nodded and prepared to activate their change bracelets, only to be hit with more lasers before they could press the button.

"I'm sorry, Rangers.", Crystallia said mockingly. "But me and my new partner just can't allow you to morph before we take you down."

"New partner?", Mark gasped. "But who -?"

Before he could finish that question, the answer reared it's ugly head. It was Lulu, in full Ranger gear, pointing her Beak Blaster at the 4 of them.

"Nothing personal, brother.", Lulu said somewhat mockingly. "I've just been enlightened by my new friend here. I've realised that if the Dominion wants this planet, why not let them have it."

"Oh Lulu, not you too.", Mark wheezed. "I guess we'll have to deal with you as well as this thing."

"No, stop.", the voice of Commander Gordon came over their communicator. "There is a way to bring Lulu back to normal without using force. You just have to get her to power down and then morph again."

"How will that help?", Carrie asked.

"When you morph, an electric charge is sent through your body. Not enough to cause any pain, but enough to stimulate your brain so that you can think straight. This should snap her out of it."

It was then that Lulu began to yawn. "This is getting boring. If you're just going to stand around and chit-chat, then I'm leaving." She then put her Blaster away and flew up to the other side of a building.

"Well she wasn't very helpful.", Crystallia complained. "I'd better go and do my job. Ta-ta." With that, she also teleported away.

"We'd better split up and look for the two of them.", Mark suggested.

"I'll go and look for Lulu.", Carrie insisted. "I know a few places she might have gone. You three handle the diamond creature."

* * *

Elsewhere, Lulu powered down and entered a gang bar, unaware that she was being watched by an unseen force, which scanned her.

* * *

In the city, Crystallia continued her attack, from the roof of a construction site. "Now you humans won't have enough wits to wipe your -", but before she could finish her statement, she was ambushed by the Red, Black and Yellow Rangers.

Red was the one to introduce them. "We're going to send you back where you came from." But in the actual fight, Crystallia gained the advantage and held onto it. Barely anything they did affected her and soon they were knocked down to the ground, where Crystallia had Red within her grasp.

* * *

At the Valley High School, janitor Ernie Murray was mopping the floor, when the door came flying off its hinges. On the other side was Galvahex, a determined look in his robotic eyes. "What do you want?", Ernie said with a terrified look on his face.

"You're going to give me access to all your yearbooks, school photos and permanent records.", the robot demanded, pointing his gun at the man "And be very thorough."

* * *

In the back alleys of the city, Carrie was looking through various gang bars looking for information on Lulu's whereabouts. Eventually, at one bar, instead of saying "Sorry gal, haven't seen her.", the guy said "Who wants to know?"

Carrie saw this as a cue to get violent with this guy. "Listen buddy.", she said, getting him in an arm hold. "If you've done something to her, I'll -."

"Relax "Mom", I'm right here.". Carrie turned towards the voice that had just commented. Sure enough, it was Lulu, only different. She was now dressed in a mishmash of punk stereotypes, with a leather jacket, jeans and gelled hair, with glossy lipstick and excessive eyeliner. "You shouldn't have followed me. This is my new team, one where I don't have to listen to your rules."

Carrie had the perfect comeback for that. "I'm not here to take you back. I'm here to challenge you to a little fight. If you win, then I'll let you go to live your life of crime with your new pals. If I win, then nothing happens. I'll have proved that you don't have the emotional maturity to stand on your own and you'll be able to go off to your own devices. Either way, you get off."

Lulu smiled at this. "Okay then, Carrie. I'll accept your challenge. Boys, clear us some space, won't you?" The gang members, clearly terrified for some reason, obeyed with almost no hesitation. Carrie decided to ignore it as she warmed up her knuckles. Lulu was still smugly smirking as she moved into the now open space. "You don't realise that you're going up against a green belt in the Valley High Mixed Martial Arts club?"

She went for a Mu Thai kick, only for Carrie to catch it with her hands and throw the girl over her shoulders. "Big whoop. I helped found that club when you were still in short pants." The fight then went on for some time, with Lulu trying to attack constantly, only for Carrie to constantly defend. "Let's make this interesting for you, shall we?", Carrie said after a while. She then reached for her bracelet and pressed the button. "Let's Fly!" A flash of light passed, and when it cleared, Carrie was gone, replaced with the White Ranger.

The gang members, terrified to see what they though was a bird monster that had disguised itself as a human being, quickly turned to the door and ran, but Lulu stood her ground. "Those cowards.", she muttered "I'll beat her and get them back." She reached for her own bracelet intending to even the odds. "Let's Fly!" With that, Lulu transformed, only to be shocked upon the transformation being completed. "What, where am I? I was at the museum. Carrie, what are you doing here?"

"There's no time to explain now, Lulu.", came the response from her teammate. "The other are under attack from a monster made from that diamond the museum just picked up. We've got to help them."

* * *

The two girls flew through the air until they saw Crystallia beating the tar out of the others. They then flew down and delivered a kick to the monster's chest, sending her backwards.

Mark got up off the floor as Lulu tended to him. "Big bro, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But are you?"

Lulu made a peace sign in response. "Relax, the shock brought me back to normal."

"Impossible.", Crystallia cried. "You should have become a total opposite of yourself.

The team turned back towards her. "Maybe you shouldn't underestimate what we're willing to do for each other.", Carrie replied before leaping towards the monster with Lulu. The two drew their Wing Sabers and slashed at Crystallia, only for Lulu to have hers knocked out of her hand. She promptly responded by leaping over the monster's back and hitting her with her Sky Enforcer, knocking her down.

"That did it.", Steven commented. He then moved to hold a recovering Crystallia in place. Lulu helped him as Carrie slashed the Mutasect off the monster's shoulder, reverting her to a diamond.

However, the Mutasect merely regenerated Crystallia as a giant. "Thanks for that last bit of kinetic energy, Whitey!"

The others looked up at the giant monster while Mark opened his communicator. "We need the vehicles."

**Take Off! Go, Go!**

As the 5 entered their vehicles, Mark radioed his instructions. "We need to finish this before that thing can cause more damage to the city. Let's go for the Bomber." He inserted his chip into the array.

"Let's do it." The others did likewise with their chips.

**Icarus Bomber! Go, Go!**

The Bomber crashed into Crystallia, who promptly declared "I've been iced.", before exploding.

* * *

Back aboard the ship, Halatia was furious. "All that work to disrupt humanity with Crystallia, reduced to worthlessness."

"Not quite.", Galvahex responded, walking in. "Thanks to the Blue Ranger's temporary reversion, I have managed to find out her identity. Her name is Lulu Christiana Goodman."

Hearing this, the Princess has another moment of deja vu, his one with a voice accompanying the memory of a man showing her a picture of a teenage girl.

_"This is my sister, Lulu. She practically idolises me, wants to follow in my footsteps and become a pilot someday."_

But the Princess shook this off. "Why do I feel like I should know that name?"

Galvahex was quick to answer her. "She is the sister of Mark Goodman, the Red Ranger. He has also been her legal guardian since an incident with their parents years ago. In addition to this connection, I have also discovered the location of their home."

The Princess smiled at this fact. "Which means that, when the time is right, we can take out two of the Rangers at the start of our final attack."

* * *

At the house in question, Lulu returned from something that Mark had tasked her with. "I've returned the diamond to the museum and I had all the money that gang I joined stole donated to charity. Honestly, I can't believe I chose to wear that much eyeliner." But as she looked up, she saw that Carrie was in the room with them. "Oh hey, Carrie. Has something happened at the Nest?"

"No, no.", her ally responded. "I've just been thinking about the sparring match I had with your… other self, and it got me thinking. You've got talent and potential, but you could benefit from more training then you're getting now."

Lulu was surprised by this. "You mean…"

Mark finished that thought for her. "Starting today, Carrie has agreed to give you some extra training every other day at 6 o'clock."

"So what do you say to a little sparring right now, kid?", Carrie asked.

Lulu was ecstatic about this. "What do you think?"

As the two began their session, Mark smiled. While this invasion had taken the woman he loved from him, it had brought him together with others. And those others were now getting along just fine.


	5. Distant

Aboard the ship, Fwelf was showing off a Mutasect monster he had created to Princess Halatia and Galvahex. The Princess had told him that he either had to contribute more to the takeover of Earth, or he'd be banished from the ship. And so he had targeted a tap in an abandoned house and transformed it into a monster. "Princess, Galvahex. I present to you Drain Brain.", he announced.

The Princess was unimpressed. "Except it's a faucet."

Fwelf ignored her, continuing his explanation. "You see, our main obstacle to the conquest of Earth is the presence of the Rangers. I was thinking on this fact, when I found out that devices such as the one I created Drain Brain from can send messes away down holes. And so I created him to have the same power. Observe." He then indicated a box with a camera which he had Drain Brain hit with a beam from his nozzle. A portal opened beneath the box, sucking it in before closing. "Now let's see what that camera is picking up." The image displayed on the monitor displayed a rocky terrain with an orange sky.

Galvahex was impressed. "So if used on the Rangers, they'd be sent to the far reaches of the universe."

Halatia was also impressed. "Send Drain Brain down to Earth. I want him to get to work immediately."

Fwelf nodded, flicking a switch on a console. Drain Brain was surrounded by a coloured light before vanishing.

* * *

Down on Earth, Drain Brain began carrying out his orders. Namely, causing mindless destruction until the Rangers showed up. He'd barely taken out 3 corridors in a shopping mall before the Rangers showed up.

"Alright team, you know the drill.", Mark said. "Fight this thing, beat this thing, hope it doesn't go giant, beat it again if it does."

"Sounds good to us.", Wayne nodded in response.

But as the team began their attack, Drain Brain managed to counter everything they threw at him. Carrie's sharpshooting, Steven's rock-throwing, Lulu's acrobatics skills; he countered them all.

"Nothing we do is working.", Lulu pointed out, as Wayne's attempt to hit the monster with his Enforcer was also deflected.

Then Drain Brain remembered what he was here for, and turned the tap on his head. A portal emerged from his nozzle and came out beneath the 5 Rangers. "Guys, watch out.", Mark cried, pushing the others out of the way. The portal then sucked him in before closing.

"Oh no, he got Mark!", Carrie yelled out.

Steven turned towards Wayne, who was the most senior of the remaining 4. "What do we do know?"

Wayne thought for a few seconds, before coming to a decision. "Everyone, let's fall back and regroup at the Nest. Come on, move!"

The others promptly nodded, before taking flight with him back to base.

* * *

Aboard the ship, the Princess was laughing. "Well well, Fwelf. It looks like you've managed to do something right after all."

"What do you mean?", Galvahex asked, confused. "Four of the five rangers are still on Earth to oppose us."

"Yes, but he got rid of their leader.", came Halatia's response. "With Mark Goodman safely out of the way, the others will be like lost little lambs, needing directions."

"Perhaps, but how long will it be until they work out a way to bring him back?"

* * *

"What do you mean he's still alive?", Steven exclaimed. The four had returned to the Nest to report the situation to Commander Gordon, only to be told that Mark wasn't as gone as they thought.

"I mean exactly what I say.", Gordon replied. "If that Mutasect had really vaporised him, then the life signal from his bracelet would've cut off. But it hasn't even flattened once since that portal sucked him in."

"You think that thing sent my brother away somewhere?", Lulu asked.

"I'm sure of it.", said the Commander. "But wherever it went him, it isn't anywhere on Earth."

Carrie was next to say something. " How do we get him back?"

At this, the Commander's face became very stern. "I'm afraid that our only course of action in this event is to destroy that Mutasect."

"I'll get to work on a plan.", Wayne said. As he walked off to do so, a thought came to his mind; where did the Commander get the term "Mutasect" from?

* * *

Elsewhere, Mark came to. Instead of the city centre where he had been fighting that thing with his team, he was now in a wasteland with a skyline that was definitely not anywhere on Earth. And he also noticed that he was now alone, with none of his team having joined him through the portal. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had managed to keep them safe from whatever planet in the universe he had been sent to. But there was a burning question he had. How the heck would he get home?

Before he could think too much on that subject, he heard a cry for help. Heading over to the direction he heard the scream coming from, he saw an alien being tormented by an ant-like humanoid with a cannon mounted on his arm and a reptilian humanoid. He activated a listening device on his communicator to overhear what they were saying.

"I'm sorry Prisoner 4182," the ant creature said mockingly "but it appears that you tried to run away from the work camp and make a break for freedom. And I'm afraid that Sir Tann can't have that dissension within his slaves." It then blasted the other alien with its cannon, causing that alien, to gain black skin and mandibles, looking much like the ant man. The alien then got up and moved zombie-like towards the other aliens.

"Good.", the snake alien hissed. "Now you can get back to work without further fuss."

Mark could no longer just sit back. "Hey you!", he called out to the two tormentors. "I don't know if you have a word for it on this planet, but on Earth, we'd call you "bullies"."

"Another earthling?", the snake alien said. "Algrin said nothing of there being more so soon."

"Who cares? This makes our day a lot more interesting.", his compatriot answered.

Mark ran forward, drawing his Wing Saber. He plunged it into the chest of the snake alien, who merely laughed. "What? But how -?"

"Ah yes. You humans place your hearts within the centre of your chest, where any fool with a sharp object can puncture it. Unlike my species, who store our vital components in our backs."

The ant alien then knocked Mark out. "Equiptile, enough playing around. We should take this human to Tann and see what he has to say for himself."

Equiptile sighed. "Very well, Cannant. We'll do it your way."

* * *

Back on Earth, in a park, Drain Brain once more found himself face to face with the Yellow, White and Blue Rangers. "Hey ugly," the Blue Ranger called out "I hear you're looking to send us somewhere. Call me a killjoy, but I've got school tomorrow, so I'll have to decline."

Carrie sighed. "Are you going to stand here and make jokes all day, Lulu? Or will we actually get to fight this thing?"

And so they began to fight, before being quickly overwhelmed by the monster.

* * *

On the other planet, Mark was awoken by a loud demand. "Wake up, human." When he complied, he found himself demorphed, tied to a chair and facing down a humanoid man with a bizarre white hat. "So you're a new arrival from Earth? The planet that Algrin has been trying and failing to conquer for weeks."

Mark was surprised to hear this. "You know Algrin?"

The man laughed. "Know him? I outrank Algrin. I am Sir Tann, brother to Queen Uuhcura and first in line to the throne of the Dominion."

Mark was shocked to hear this. "If you're the heir, then what about the Princess?"

"Princess?", Tann said confused, before realising. "Ah yes, the Princess Halatia. She is merely the second in line to the succession, on account of being a female. Now then, I feel like you should be familiar to me."

"I can answer that", Tann's subordinate Cannant answered. "According to the data that Algrin's robot Galvahex took from Space Station Garuda, he is Mark Goodman. United States Air Force Pilot, aged 24, born in Miami, Florida, parents deceased, grandmother living in Washington, sister Lulu, 17, living in with him. In a relationship with Mary James and has a love/hate relationship with Dr. Wayne Burley over a past misunderstanding. Authorised to be the Red Flying Ranger and pilot the Hawk Flier."

"Wow.", Mark commented. "Seems like an awful lot of information for a space station computer."

Tann laughed at this. "Oh but we didn't extract anything from your computers. Your research team wiped them before our forces actually boarded you."

This left Mark shocked. "But then where did you get the information?"

It was Equiptile who answered that question. "We extracted all the information concerning Earth and you Rangers from the mind of Major Mary James."

Mark was shocked to hear this. "Mary? She's alive? Where is she? What have you done with her?", he yelled.

"Unfortunately, we don't know.", Cannant said to him. "Algrin insisted on deciding what happened to her personally. He only let us have the rest of the Garuda crew. Do you want to see them?"

* * *

Mark was untied and led to a mine, where multiple different types of aliens were being worked to the point of exhaustion. There were also ant-like creatures similar to Cannant's victim from earlier. After being led a certain distance into the caves, he saw several humans, like himself. He recognised some of them from the space station crew, but their uniforms were disheveled and they were starting to grow stubble or long hair, depending on gender.

"Perk up, humans.", Equiptile hissed. "We've brought you a special visitor." He then pushed Mark forward. "We'll let you have a conversation with him."

One of the technics, Michael van Lyden, got up off his arms and approached the newcomer. "Pilot Goodman, what are you doing here?", he asked.

"I wish I knew for sure.", Mark answered. "But then again, I could ask the same of you. I thought Algrin's goons wiped out everyone on the station."

"That's what they wanted the Earth to think.", van Lyden answered him. "They shot out the cameras so you wouldn't be able to find out what happened to us. Then Algrin had all of us transmatted across space to this planet. It was a one way link, so we can't be sent back."

"I heard that you also wiped the computers of all data.", Mark commented.

Another technic, Rachael Lefee, joined the conversation after hearing this. "Indeed we did. But we made sure that the data was stored on this disk." She pulled it out of her jacket and gave it to Mark, who pocketed it. "It contains plans for the weapons we weren't able to construct prior to the attack, plus a support robot for the Icarus."

"I'll try to make sure that it gets back to Gordon.", Mark assured her. "Now I have a question. If there are so many slaves here, why do none of them think to lead a full scale rebellion?"

"Because most of them are demoralised.", was Lefee's answer. "Though some hold onto hope, following the example of Jangar, they often end up being turned into Ant-Drones."

"Jangar?", Mark was confused by the reference. "Who's that?"

Van Lyden answered this. "Apparently, he's some sort of rebel that's been resisting the Dominion for decades, but no-one's heard anything from him in years."

It was then that Equiptile returned and addressed Mark. "We've decided what to do with you. For your continuous defiance of the Dominion's objectives on Earth, you will face me in a battle to the death." He indicated for two Ant-Drones to lead Mark away, before pointing to van Lyden and Lefee. "You two come with us. We need at least one witness to this."

* * *

Back on Earth, Drain Brain had taken out Steven, Carrie and Lulu, only to come face to face with Wayne. "Let's just hope my plan works out."

* * *

Mark was lead out into a rocky terrain, where Tann and Cannant were overlooking them from above. He saw Equiptile follow, escorting van Lyden and Lefee with him. "What are they doing here? Don't want this to be a private affair?"

"Not exactly.", Tann answered. "In accordance with our code of conduct for execution, you are allowed one witness from your own species in order to spread the news."

"But there are two witnesses."

Equiptile laughed at this. "Equiptile isn't my real name, Goodman. But I'm about to show you how I earned it." With that, his body opened and surrounded van Lyden, attaching to him as armour. "If you want to defeat me, you'll have to fight your friend as well."

Mark wasn't concerned. "I'm already going to free everyone you captured, including my girlfriend. This will just be the start." He then reached for his change bracelet, pressing the button and saying "Let's Fly!" One flash of light later, he was now once more the Red Ranger. He then drew his Wing Saber. "Let's dance, snake-head."

The two ran to each other, both armed with their swords, with Equiptile getting the advantage. Even with Mark resorting to kicking his opponent, he still got outclassed. Eventually, he decided to go for his Beak Blaster, only for Lefee to call out to him. "Be careful, Goodman. You could risk hurting van Lyden instead of that thing."

"Yeah, I had considered that.", Mark commented.

But Equiptile wouldn't let up with his assault even with distraction. "You're open.", he growled, taking a swipe at Mark which knocked him down. "Your emotions leave you weak, human. You can't possibly defeat us."

"Equiptile has the advantage.", Cannant gloated. "He's practically carrying this fight on his own back." Overhearing this, Mark had an idea.

* * *

Back on Earth, Drain Brain had almost overpowered Wayne, when he decided to turn his tap on.

"I was waiting for that.", Wayne said. He then pulled out his Wing Saber and jammed it up the monster's nozzle, causing and explosion.

* * *

Back in the Dominion ship, the camera box that Fwelf had used for his demonstration reappeared, with Galvahex being the first to notice. "This won't please the Princess at all.", he said.

* * *

On Tann's mining planet, Equiptile moved in for a killing blow, only for Mark to leap over him and stab him in the back. This caused the snake alien to release van Lyden and fall to the floor. "How did you know to do that?", Equiptile groaned.

"I can thank you for that.", Mark answered. "When we first met, you said that you stored your vital organs in your back, so it was only a matter of hitting you there." He then assembled his Hyper Cannon and shot at Equiptile, vanquishing him for good.

"No!", Tann yelled. But before he could order the Ant-Drones to finish his captive off, the Red Ranger started glowing.

"Goodman, what's happening?", van Lyden said, recovering his senses.

"I think I'm going home.", was the response that came to him. "I'll make sure your plans make it to the Commander.", he managed to get out before vanishing completely. Lefee made her way to comfort van Lyden, while Tann looked down at them, an angry expression in his eyes.

* * *

Back in the park where the Rangers were fighting Drain Brain, Mark reappeared among them. They all stopped fighting and went over to him.

"Big brother, you're back.", Lulu said, relieved.

"I knew that attacking that thing's nozzle would work.", Wayne commented.

"Where did that thing send you?", Carrie asked.

"I'll explain later.", Mark said simply. "But for now, let's finish this thing."

And so the battle resumed. Mark slashed at Drain Brain with his Wing Saber, Lulu and Carrie kicked him simultaneously and Steven threw a large rock at him. "Hey, Wayne.", Mark yelled at his teammate. "You gonna join in or what?"

"Hold your horses.", Wayne responded, activating his Sky Enforcer and hitting the tap monster in the chest, knocking him down.

"Let's use the Hyper Cannons.", Mark said, which the rest of the team agreed with. After assembling their Cannons, the 5 pointed them at Drain Brain. "Target locked, Fire!" The five beams converged into one, which hit Drain Brain with enough force to obliterate him entirely, bug and all. "Good work, team. Let's go home."

* * *

"Good news, earthlings.", Tann announced to his human slaves, including van Lyden and Lefee. "You're all going home."

As this lead to the expected murmurs of excitement , Cannant broke them up. "Settle down. He hasn't told you the best part yet."

"Indeed.", the vengeful prince added. "You'll be going home, but I never said I'd let you go. "You'll be showing me the location of your planet so that I can travel there and deal with Mark Goodman myself. Ant-Drones, round up the earthlings and load them into my ship."

As the Ant-Drones complied, their creator turned to the other slave workers. "Don't think that you're getting off just because Tann is leaving. A new overseer will be here soon, and rest assured that he isn't as cosy as the Prince."

"Indeed. I won't allow Algrin and his posse to grab the glory.", Sir Tann growled. "I'll deal with Mark Goodman and his fellow rangers myself."

* * *

Back at the Nest, Mark shared the information he had found out at Tann's camp. "I wasn't able to get anyone out, but I didn't leave empty-handed." He pulled out the disc with the plans he had recovered and gave it to the Commander. "Do you think you can have his analysed?"

"I don't see why not.", she answered. "This could give us the edge in the upcoming battles with Algrin and Halatia."

Wayne was intrigued by Mark's story. "It's a shame that no-one has seen this Jangar person in a while. If we knew where to find him, we'd probably have a valuable ally."

"That is, if he was anywhere near Earth when he was last seen.", Carrie pointed out.

Steven decided to register his opinion. "It's good to know that everyone who was on the Garuda is safe. It just means that we have to find and rescue them."

"But even then, Major James would still be missing.", Lulu pointed out. Though she didn't show it, she was dejected that she wouldn't get to meet the woman who might become her sister-in-law yet.

"That doesn't matter.", Mark said. "What matters is that she's alive and out there." He took out a broach he kept in his pocket, opening it to look at a picture of her. "And I'm going to find her and bring her home.


	6. Using Your Noodle

"Good morning, Corporal Hartford? How are you feeling today?" Carrie had said these same words to Steven every day for the last 2 years. He hadn't given anything more articulate than "I'm fine" as a response. Then the Dominion had attacked and the two had been called up to the Flying Ranger programme. Carrie had hoped for more varied conversations to come about from the extra stimulus. But no, things had mostly stayed the same between them. Until today.

Carrie walked into Steven's room, at around the usual time of 13:00 hours to a sight that she did not expect to see. Steven was out of bed, sitting in a chair with the television on. "Okay, I wasn't expecting you to be up and about on your own. What's brought this on?"

"I heard a sound out of the window.", was the soldier's response. "So I decided to turn on the news and see if that would give me a hint as to what it was."

Carrie was intrigued by this. "And did you get your answers?"

Steven merely indicated the story that was playing on the news.

"…at the scene, where Evergreen Noodle company president is about to begin the new promotional campaign for their latest factory." And sure enough, a musical jingle began playing, which Carrie guessed must have been what Steven had heard.

"I don't remember exactly what significance this might have held to me before I went to the war.", Steven decided to clarify. "I'm just thinking that if we go to the actual event."

Carrie thought for a moment. "Normally I'd need to have booked permission with our superior officer weeks in advance. But I think I can bend the rules just this once."

* * *

Elsewhere, while the event staff were setting up for the crowd, Matt and Eddie were backstage, up to no good. This time, Matt had suggested constructing a bomb and placing it in the mascot costume.

"I don't know about this, Matt.", Eddie stuttered. "If this succeeds, wont it make us terrorists instead of anarchists?"

"Chill, man.", his partner responded. "This bomb has a very small blast radius. No-one but the guy in the suit will get hurt. But if things go as planned, they'll notice the bomb has a little note attached to it. Warning them that if they don't shut down the factory and move away." He clenched his fist. "Every time they build one of these factories, they tear down part of our city to do so. Well I'm sick of it."

Matt went over to the costume, and taped the bomb inside. When he moved his head back around, he saw Eddie running away, with a dwarf in a cloak and a visor standing next to him. "Are you done?", the dwarf asked, pointing his gauntlet at the would-be anarchist. Matt took the hint and ran away, not wanting a repeat of what happened at the museum. "That was interesting, but down to business.", Fwelf said, placing his latest Mutasect on the costume.

* * *

At Winter Valley High School, Lulu was discussing things with her friends, Lila and Sasha. "So are they still fixing that door some punk broke down?", Sasha asked.

"I know right? Not to mention that guy also smashed most of our class photos. I can't believe Ernie didn't get a description of him.", was Lila's reply.

"I think that Ernie was IN on the whole thing. A guy as diligent as him not noticing a thing? Gag me. What do you think Lulu?"

Lulu almost answered her friend's question. "Well if you want my opinion…", when she heard a revving motorcycle. She looked up and saw Wayne waiting for her on a bike. "I'll have to do a rain check on this conversation, is that okay?" Abandoning her friends before they could answer her. "What is it, Wayne? Has something bad happened?"

"No.", was the reply her team mate gave her. "The Commander finished work on the first of our new arsenal expansion and wants us to train at the racing circuit. Steven and Carrie aren't available, but Mark is already there. He sent me to pick you up."

"Alright, let's get going.", Lulu said, trying to mount Wayne's new bike.

"No, this is mine.", he said, gently nudging her off. "Yours is around the corner."

* * *

At the circuit, Mark was trying out his vehicle. It was a dune-buggy like vehicle, red with the Hawk insignia on it. This was known as the Rover Launcher, due to the speeds it could theoretically achieve. He stopped after 50 laps and went over to his assigned assistant Caldwell. "Well, how did I do?", Mark asked.

"You achieved a top speed of Mach 1.3 during those laps.", was Caldwell's answer. "I wouldn't recommend trying to go that fast normally, as we've no way of knowing if Rover Launcher can stand up to the continued strain."

"Well that's what these tests are for, right Caldwell?", Mark responded. At that point, he saw Wayne and Lulu come onto the circuit on their own ranger vehicles, dubbed the Jet Cycles. While Wayne came in like he was already a pro, Lulu notably had some trouble. "I see you're trying to make my sister into a rule breaker again, Wayne."

"Perish the thought.", was Wayne's reply. "I'm merely trying to be a positive role model for the kids."

"Very funny, you two.", Lulu quipped. "But seriously, how do they expect me to ride that thing around the city? I can barely steer it."

"That's why we're here, Miss Goodman.", Caldwell answered her. "In order to ensure that the Flying Rangers can use their vehicles in the best way possible ways for their respective fighting styles."

"Plus I'm going to be coaching you through the basics.", Wayne added. "When I said I was being a role model, I wasn't entirely joking."

Lulu accepted the explanations given to her. "Then what're we standing around for? Let's get to it."

* * *

On their ship, Galvahex and Princess Halatia were viewing the events occurring in the city. "I hope Fwelf knows what he's doing with this latest scheme of his.", the Princess commented. "We've never attacked a target this large prior to now."

"That is not our only concern, Princess.", Galvahex responded. "It appears that Mark Goodman, Lulu Goodman and Wayne Burley are currently at the racing circuit. They appear to be testing a new asset to their arsenal, if my observations are not incorrect."

"Those blasted humans. We'll just have to go and deal with their continued insolence. Personally."

* * *

Over in the city centre, Steven and Carrie had arrived at the launch event, which was just about to begin. "So, have any more images from your memories reassembled themselves?", Carrie asked, sure that this could be a breakthrough in her patient's treatment. When he had been placed in her care, he had both extensive nerve damage and a case of shell shock so severe that he could barely remember anything other than his name. While he had made excellent progress recovering from his nerve problem, his memory was still mostly a blur to him.

"Something's coming back, definitely.", her charge said in response. "I can see a woman, a supermarket, a shopping cart…"

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are now ready to begin our meet and greet. And to help kick things off on a positive note, here's Evergreen Noodles' mascot, Mr. Noodle Cup!"

With the introduction over, the aforementioned mascot appeared. He was, fittingly, a noodle cup man, with a fork for a hand. He also had his "seal" opened, with some of the contents sticking out. (Backstage, the guy who was booked to wear the suit apologised for coming in late, much to the confusion of the backstage crew) Then with a flash, Carrie saw the costume's face change, going from the somewhat doofy expression it had previously had and now sporting a Mutasect on its left cheek. She knew something was up and decided to duck for cover, failing to account for Steven while doing so.

"How about a free sample, courtesy of Noodler?", the transformed mascot costume growled. Sure enough, Noodler shot several strings at the crowd, with very few going un-hit. Almost instantly, the affected immediately began attacking other people, creating massive amounts of chaos. "Now that you're prepared, it's time to package." Noodler than shot everyone he had hit before with another beam, which trapped them all in oversized packaging. "Now I can start delivering my stock to our galactic outposts."

It was then that Carrie jumped back in, now morphed into the White Ranger, and punched Noodler back with her Sky Enforcer. "Believe me, my friend said those outposts weren't like in your brochure. Which is why I'm cancelling your delivery." Carrie than sighed internally, realising that she was taking a cue from Lulu. She then pulled her Beak Blaster out, loaded her Wing Saber into it to create the Hyper Cannon and pointed at him. "Let's just get this over with."

But before she could fire, Steven burst out of his packaging fully morphed and pushed her aside to attack Noodler. However Noodler simply stabbed at him with his fork. "Looks like I managed to get one of you with my anger spell. That won't stop me from knocking you down." Sure enough, he launched several sealed pots at the two rangers, burying them. "Now I'm going to find some more stock from this city." He turned around and left.

"Do you think we should call in the others?", Carrie asked.

"No.", Steven growled, pulling himself out of the pile. "I'm going to go and take that guy out myself."

* * *

Back at the circuit, Wayne and Lulu were still working on their bike skills, when Halatia and Galvahex appeared with a group of Bio-Roids. "I'm sorry Rangers, but it looks like we're going to have to take your vehicles in for a service. A permanent service.", the Princess declared.

"Looks like we're going to have to cut the training short.", Lulu said, morphing into the Blue Ranger.

"On the contrary, we're now learning on the job.", Wayne replied, likewise morphing into the Black Ranger

"Let's show them what we can do.", Mark concluded, morphing into the Red Ranger to join the others.

And thus the three charged into the fight on their new vehicles. Wayne positioned himself into a "wheelie" position, which he used to swing around and take out a few targets. "This should thin out the competition."

"Neat trick, but look what I can do.", Lulu responded to him. She revved her bike to a certain speed and jumped off the seat while hanging on to the bars. She used this to fling the hind wheel at the attacking Bio-Roids and knock them down.

Mark was impressed. "Alright, let me try…." But before he could finish that sentence, he got a long look at the Princess's face. He knew that he should recognise it from somewhere, but he couldn't put it together in the heat of the moment. Instead, he simply decided to ram his opponents to the floor with Rover Launcher.

Galvahex noticed that Mark had noticed Halatia's face. He knew that the human was close to working out the truth. So he grabbed the Princess and teleported out, merely saying "We'll let you have this one."

"What was that about?", Caldwell wondered. But before anyone else could offer their theories, they received a call from the Commander.

"Rangers, a new Mutasect has appeared in the centre of the city. Carrie and Steven are already fighting it as we speak and have redirected it to the park."

"Understood Commander, over and out.", Mark replied. "Alright team, let's get over there."

* * *

In the park, Steven, still not free of the anger trance that Noodler had placed on him, was fighting the noodle cup creature in an even battle. After a few minutes of fighting, Noodler declared "This isn't as fun anymore.", and poked Steven backwards with his fork arm.

The other Rangers soon came to help their friend. "Stay back guys, this creep's mine.", the Yellow Ranger said, backhanding White slightly. He then charged towards Noodler and began wrestling with him once again. "This time I'll take you down for sure.", he growled.

But he didn't, and Noodler simply pushed him back and began attacking the team as a whole with a series of energy beams. "Let's try a woman's touch.", Lulu quipped, jumping forward to attack Noodler her own way. She first launched a flying kick into the monster's chest, unintentionally setting off the bomb that Matt and Eddie had taped there earlier. "Alright, now we beat finely until done." She deployed her Sky Enforcer and launched more punches at Noodler, weakening him further.

"Alright, let's use the Hyper Cannons.", Mark commanded.

But as they had finished assembling them, Noodler began staggering about. "Uhh, I don't feel so good." Then the bomb that was inside him went off, killing the monster. However, the Mutasect absorbed most of the explosion's power and used it to reconstruct Noodler as a giant. "Now I'm the big fry around here."

"Well, you can't blame me for this one.", Carrie said, nervously remembering that the last two growths had been because of her carelessness.

Mark was about to call for the vehicles, but Steven, still under the spell, interrupted him. "Hurry up and send the vehicles our way."

**Action Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Take off, Go Go!**

Once in their vehicles, Mark and Wayne executed their combo attack. "Hawk Condor Whirlwind Attack!" This sent a flurry of lasers at Noodler knocking him down. "Alright, let's use the Megazord again. It's been a while."

**Combo Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Icarus Megazord, Combine! Go Go!**

Within a few seconds, the Icarus Megazord was assembled, but Steven was restrained to stop him from causing more trouble with his temporary recklessness. Noodler attacked with the same pots he had used on Yellow and White earlier, only for the Icarus to walk through unharmed.

"Let's finish this. Icarus Saber!" The Icarus deployed its sword, using it to bifurcate Noodler, this time finishing him for good. With this done, the people trapped in packaging were released, with the anger spell on everybody being reversed.

* * *

"Well, well. It looks like Fwelf failed to defeat the Rangers once again.", Halatia commented.

Fwelf wasn't happy about this. "I don't see you having room to talk. You couldn't even take down a couple of bikes."

"I would have if Galvahex had let me."

"It seems that there's been some dissent within my ranks." All turned around to the source of the third voice. It was Algrin, now fully recovered from his transformation during his battle with the Red Ranger. "I'll just have to put you all straight again."

* * *

Back on Earth, Steven had remembered what the noodle jingle had stirred within him. "When I was a little boy, my mom bought me a pack of these noodles from the supermarket once. They weren't all that good, my friends had said. But the way she made them, it was the best meal she ever made for me."

Carrie was happy for him. "So do you remember where you originally grew up? I've asked for permission for time off from the Commander in case you did."

"I do. It was in a place called Fenmore."

As the two continued their conversation, Mark was deep in thought. He was thinking about his lost girlfriend Mary. Those thoughts made him realise why Princess Halatia's face seemed so familiar. Because it was the same face as Mary's.


	7. Lost in Transit

Algrin called all three of his minions to the bridge. He had something he wanted to address. "While I've been out, I can see the three of you have been carrying out your own plans to either subjugate Earth or defeat the Rangers." He moved closer to Fwelf, Galvahex and Halatia, leaning in very close to their faces. "Can you tell me what you've managed to accomplish?"

"We have discovered the civilian identity of the Blue Flying Ranger.", Galvahex reported. "And the Princess has suggested that we can use this to eliminate two Rangers at once when the time comes."

"Good, very good.", Algrin replied. "But That is the only success the three of you have pulled out.", he then yelled at them. His pointed finger moved to Fwelf. "You made plans both to dispose of the Rangers and to provide our mining outposts with more workers. How exactly did those work out?"

"They didn't.", Halatia answered. "Since then, not only have the Rangers been constructing new equipment, but we have been receiving hails from Prince Tann, who refuses to speak to anyone but you. I would've destroyed the first of their new additions, but this mechanical pest denied me the opportunity." This last part was directed at Galvahex, with her rod pointed at him for added emphasis.

"I'm not mad about the Rangers getting new equipment, Your Highness. Indeed, that will only make our eventual victory over them more satisfying.", Algrin responded to her. "As for Tann, I shall handle that when he calls again."

As if on cue, the communication alert buzzed into life. Then the face of Tann appeared on the screen, seething with anger. "Algrin, where are you? Don't ignore me again, you impudent…"

"I'm here, Sire.", Algrin said, interrupting the Queen's brother in his ranting. "I've been incapacitated for a while, but I'm back now."

"Ah yes, your robot said something about you being out of commission."

"And he wasn't malfunctioning.", Algrin said in reply. "Now what can I do that has the Queen's brother calling me, a lowly Viscount?"

"It's to do with your opponents on Earth, the Flying Rangers.", Tann answered them. "Recently, one of them was transported to my outpost on Planet Crisis."

"So that's where Drain Brain sent him.", Fwelf commented, earning a hit on the head from Halatia's rod.

Tann continued. "While there, not only did he escape from his execution, but he slew one of my best lieutenants. Which is why I am now coming to Earth personally to deal with him myself. Here's an advance notice, you'd better have conquered Earth by the time I arrive, or your head will be on the block. But either way, the Red Ranger Mark Goodman is my kill. Do you understand?" With that, he signed off.

Algrin turned back towards his crew, his tone now a lot more desperate. "We have roughly 3 months before the Prince arrives. In that time, we need something to conquer Earth. Something that a Mutasect can use to cause mass destruction. Something… fast."

Galvahex activated his holographic display. "Perhaps these will be along the lines you are looking for." The image displayed footage of multiple road vehicles, including a classic Sedan and a bus. "I also noticed your preference towards larger objects with which to create Mutasects."

Algrin smiled. "These will do very nicely."

* * *

Down on Earth, Steven and Carrie were preparing to get on the bus. "Are you sure we should be doing this?", Steven asked. "What if the others need us?"

"Relax, Corporal Hartford.", Carrie responded. "The Dominion never launches an attack two days in a row. Besides, the others are all doing something of their own. Wayne's working on the arsenal expansion, Lulu is at the gym, practicing acrobatics and Mark says he has something to think about. We're okay to go."

As they got on the bus, neither Ranger noticed a woman, middle-aged, dressed in a black overcoat and fedora with a pair of sunglasses observing them from afar. They also didn't see this woman climb onto the same bus from the back door.

* * *

At the Nest, Wayne was faced with a problem from Commander Gordon. "What do you mean we have to cancel work on the new cannon? It's too valuable an asset to drop entirely."

"I'm sorry Dr. Burley, but we simply can't spare the components.", the Commander said in response. "All our available parts, in addition to the ones we've ordered, are going to the new support robot for the Icarus."

"You're telling me we can't simply order more of those parts in order to build the cannon?"

Gordon stared down her scientist-turned Ranger. "Most of them are coming in from Japan. The import costs alone are almost bankrupting us paying for them. Plus our higher-ups in New York and Washington don't feel assured enough of our success to give us much more than repair and maintenance costs. Until they do, the project for the new cannon is on indefinite hold."

Frustrated at this, Wayne punched his hand against the table. "Great, and after I'd constructed both the scope and the charging system too. Now I have to find another use for them."

Gordon placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about this, I really am. The minute we can assure additional funding for our project, I'll make sure to let you resume this project. But for now, try and find out what's got Private Goodman in his funk. It could be a problem to your team's ability to work together." Wayne nodded and walked out, leaving Gordon alone with her thoughts. "Especially if he found out what I think he's found out."

* * *

Elsewhere, Mark was at the Winter Valley gymnasium, waiting for Lulu to be finished with her class there. He would normally have driven his car to come and pick her up, but he had decided to walk all the way there today. Partially to alleviate his own concerns about his health, but also to think about what he had discovered yesterday. The Princess Halatia, supposedly the heir to the throne of their enemies, looked exactly like his missing girlfriend Mary James. He needed to know if they were the same person or if it was some cruel trick the Dominion or fate were playing on him. On one hand, it didn't make much sense for there to be a prominent royal as a subordinate in an invasion and he knew Algrin and Galvahex were the last two people to see Mary. But on the other hand, he had seen that creep Tann in a humanoid form and he had seen the opponents he had faced so far pull off all manner of tricks in the short time he had been fighting them. This lack of finality was eating away at him and he knew that it would cause problems in the future.

"Big bro." Mark was snapped out of his thoughts by the voice of Lulu, who came at him with the bag containing her workout clothes. "Where's the car?"

"It's back at home.", Mark replied. "I decided to walk here today."

Lulu knew instantly that something was up with her brother. "That's not like you. What's happening?"

Mark just shrugged and decided to tell her the truth in a way that he didn't tell her too much. "I just have a lot on my mind lately. I felt the walk could help me think."

With that, the Goodman siblings began the walk back home, Mark completely stoic and Lulu slightly confused. She knew hat he wasn't being entirely honest with her, but didn't want to pry to far into the truth. Whatever was affecting him, he clearly didn't want to talk about it. She briefly thought he might just be worried about the people trapped on that planet he was zapped away to, like van Lyden and Lefee, but dismissed the notion quickly. She remembered him saying that they were going to free them, which she knew he would dedicate every waking moment to overcoming. She also thought it might be concern for Mary, who she knew was even further out of his reach. But she just needed to rationalise why it was only now getting him down.

But before Lulu could dwell on it further, they heard a voice from behind them. "I've found you, Rangers." She and Mark instinctively morphed and turned around, coming face-to-face with, of all things, a Sedan. "I've been sent to run you off the road of conquest Lord Algrin is taking."

"Algrin? He's come out of whatever hole he was hiding in?", Mark said, shocked. Then his voice became determined. "That's good. I've got some questions I want him to give me answers to. Preferably beaten out of him."

To this, the car simply darted forward. Lulu barely had time to react before Mark pushed out of it's way, being swept along by the car. "Mark, no!", she called out. But it was futile, as the car merely carried on along its course.

* * *

Back on the ship, Algrin was laughing, until Galvahex came over. "My Lord. We need to withdraw the Mutasect from the car.

Algrin was not happy to be told this. "What do you mean by this? The vehicle is about to rid us of one of the Rangers."

"Yes, but it is too incompatible.", Galvahex answered. The car has too many systems for the bug to fully infect. If it continues to try and do so, it will explode under the strain, with Mark Goodman left unharmed.

Algrin wasn't particularly happy about this either. "Very well, teleport the Mutasect onto a different vehicle. I'll take care of the human myself, no matter what Tann wants."

"For once, we are in agreement.", Halatia said as she entered the room. "I too wish to see Mark Goodman eradicated completely. I've been having visions of him for a while now, and it's starting to throw off my performance. Perhaps if I get rid of him, the visions will perish with him."

Algrin was briefly worried at what she had said, only to breathe a sigh of relief at the end of it. "Very well, your highness. You and I shall go and share this target."

"I shall accompany you as well.", Galvahex added. "That way, any assistance that may join Mark Goodman can be fended off."

Algrin smiled. "Oh this is just too good. In a few moments, the greatest of our enemies' resistance will be gone for good." The three promptly burst into an evil laugh.

* * *

On the bus, Carrie had found herself conversing with the mysterious woman that, unbeknownst to her, had been tailing her and Steven onto the bus. "So, what brings you to these parts?", she asked the woman.

"Oh, I'm about to see my child born.", the woman answered her. "I'm merely trying to find a good place to help him spread his legs and have fun. What about you?"

Carrie was intrigued by the woman's bizarre wording, but nonetheless, she replied to her question. "My friend here's been suffering from some memory loss following his experiences overseas. He thinks one of the towns on this bus route is where he grew up. So we decided to check it out."

Th woman seemed intrigued by this. As she prepared her next question, the bus was briefly buffeted by something, but everyone ignored it. "So what do you do during your regular working period?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not at liberty to disclose that.", Carrie said in response. She then adopted a more light tone. "If I did tell you, I'd have to kill you."

The woman didn't seem to find this funny. Before she could continue the conversation, the lights on the bus started going out and a voice came over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, I apologise for the inconvenience, but I'm changing the scheduled route very slightly. I'm under new management that wants to go elsewhere."

Sure enough, the bus jetted off at a high speed in the road that wasn't indicated by signs. Even the driver was buffeted by the sudden change in speed. Steven tried moving over to Carrie. "What do we do?", he tried to get out.

"We sit until it stops.", she replied. "Then we get away from everyone and call for help."

* * *

Back near the quarry, Mark was still grappling with the car. But with nothing to guide it anymore, the car began zooming out of control towards a cliff. "Time to bail.", Mark said to no-one in particular. Then he jumped off the car as it went off a cliff, exploding in the process. Mark managed to glide to safety, landing next to the car's burnt out remains. "Now that was a close one."

"What were you trying to do, get yourself the land speed record for foolish drivers?" Mark turned to see Wayne and Lulu coming towards him, both fully morphed. "I heard you were having issues, but that is not the way to resolve them."

"I didn't ask for a living car to attack me, Wayne.", Mark replied. "But at least it's over now."

"On the contrary human," Algrin, Halatia and Galvahex all appeared in front of the three "it's only just beginning."

"Since the car failed to do the job, I'll finish you off Mark Goodman.", the Princess declared, running towards him with her rod in the form of a bladed weapon. Mark was shocked to see this. If she really was Mary, why would she try to kill him. But then he was at least relieved he would go to his grave knowing that the Princess was someone else entirely.

But instead of being killed, Mark was saved at the last minute by Lulu, with her Wing Saber. "If you want to get to my brother, you'll have to go through me."

Halatia smiled at this. "In that case, bring it on girlfriend." The two promptly began sparring.

Wayne then decided to charge at Galvahex, whilst firing with his Beak Blaster. "Hey Comma-Head, remember me?"

However, the robot merely generated a shield with one of his arms that blocked the blasts. "Indeed I do, Wayne Burley. And since we last encountered each other, I have assimilated your tactics into my AI, allowing me to design counter-measures." Sure enough, when the two began to engage physically, Galvahex was able to block all of Wayne's attacks, before knocking him down. "For that is my purpose for existing. I observe, analyse and adapt to any situation that is presented to me."

With their comrades during it out with each other, Mark and Algrin were left alone with each other. "Oh, this is excellent. We commanders will take down three of the Rangers, while our latest creation will finish off the other two.

Mark was shocked to hear this. "What?"

"Indeed, human. As luck would have it, my latest creation, Brakedecker has captured several human hostages, including the Yellow and White Rangers. He's taking them all somewhere he can dispose of them. That will send the humans a message that we will accept nothing short of their total surrender." He slashed at Mark with his sword, laughing maniacally.

Mark gasped as he got up, a look of anger forming under his helmet. "If that's what you're willing to do to accomplish victory, then I'm not going to let you win so long as I'm still drawing breaths." He then inserted his Wing Saber into his Beak Blaster. "Hyper Cannon! Fire!" He hit Algrin at point blank range, sending him back a few feet.

Algrin, clutching his chest in pain, laughed while gasping for breath. "So this is the full extent of your determination. Interesting. I'll let you live this time, but next time will be a different story." With that, he teleported away.

Across the quarry, Lulu took a cue from her brother and shot Halatia back with her Hyper Cannon. "Yeah! How do you like that, "girlfriend"?"

The Princess merely huffed. "You merely got lucky this time. Next time, victory will be mine." She also teleported away after delivering her ultimatum.

Wayne however was still struggling against Galvahex, who continued to anticipate everything he did. "Guys, I could use a little help here.", he called out.

"Hold your horses, we're coming." Mark and Lulu both managed to blindside the robot with their Cannons, sending him staggering.

"Fascinating.", Galvahex stated. "While I anticipated everything you would attempt to use, I failed to account for manoeuvres your teammates might use. In fact, their helping you was not something I expected at first glance. Farewell Wayne Burley, until next time." He then teleported away.

"At first glance.", Wayne said out loud to himself.

"Are you okay?", Lulu asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine.", he answered her. "I'm just thinking about an idea I got based on what he said.

"Never mind that now.", Mark said. "Carrie and Steven are in trouble elsewhere. We need the vehicles."

* * *

At a different quarry, the sentient bus stopped, violently opening its door. "Everybody off, now!" Most of the people wasted no time in doing as the creature commanded. Carrie however, gave a signal to Steven. "Quickly, while they're panicking. Let's Fly!"

He nodded and pressed the button on his bracelet. The two Rangers, now morphed, made their way out of the bus, just as the Mutasect transformed it into the giant monster Brakedecker.

"I had you two inside me?", Brakedecker said, shocked at the two Rangers emerging. "It's no matter. I'm just gonna crush you anyway."

"That's what you think, ugly.", Steven declared. "But our friends will be here any minute."

"Until then, we'll just keep you busy." Carrie leapt into the air, shooting Brakedecker in the face with her Beak Blaster, which knocked him back. She then landed on the ground and addressed the passengers and driver. "All of you need to get out of here now."

"The nearest town is that way.", Steven indicated. "Keep going until you can get help."

Everyone nodded and immediately fled the scene. The one exception was the mysterious woman, who teleported away in the confusion. Luckily for her, no-one noticed.

It was then that Mark and the others showed up with the vehicles, with Mark and Wayne hitting Brakedecker with their Whirlwind Attack. "Would you two care to hop aboard? I don't think the auto piloting system will stay active for much longer.", he shouted.

"We'll be right there.", came the response as the two teleported themselves into their cockpits.

"Alright, let's put 'em together." Mark led the others in the regular action of placing the power chip from their bracelets to begin the transformation.

**Icarus Megazord! Go, Go!**

"Let's send this guy to the scrapyard.", Carrie said, determined to take out this thing for ruining her chance to help Steven rediscover his identity.

The completed robot landed in front of Brakedecker. "Finally, an opponent my size.", the Mutasect gloated as he engaged the Icarus in battle.

Following a struggle, Brakedecker managed to catch the Megazord in one of his tentacles. The Red Ranger wasn't worried about this. "Let's try out a new feature. Beak Dagger!" The Icarus threw a dagger at Brakedecker, breaking his hold and knocking him down. "Now let's finish it off. Icarus Saber!" The Megazord deployed its sword, and used it to slash at Brakedecker until he exploded. "And another one of their creations has gone BUS-t."

Everyone else groaned at this. "I guess bad jokes run in your family, Goodman.", Wayne commented.

* * *

Back on the ship, Algrin was fuming at his loss. "No! I was so close as well."

Fwelf tried to comfort him. "Welcome back, boss."

* * *

Later, at the Nest, Wayne had proposed a new idea to Commander Gordon. "You want to incorporate your unfinished cannon into the Rover Launcher?", she asked.

"Of course, it makes sense.", he said in response. "It won't cost us much in funds and can use things that we've already constructed to give us more of an edge."

The Commander was intrigued. "Where on Earth did you get such an unorthodox idea?"

"I took it from Galvahex actually.", Wayne answered. "He said something about things not being what they seem at first glance. So I thought, why not have a dune buggy that turns into a powerful weapon?"

June Gordon spent several seconds thinking about the suggested idea before saying. "Very well then, Dr. Burley. I'll allow you to go ahead with this idea. After all, as you say, we already spent money getting the components together, so we might as well make use of them."

"Thank you, ma'am.", Wayne bowed his head slightly before walking out. As he did, he ran into Mark and Carrie. "What do you two want?"

"Mark tells me that Galvahex has predicted your entire fighting style.", Carrie replied. "So he and I decided that we might as well work with you on honing and advancing it."

"We just need you to agree to a time and a place.", Mark added.

Wayne seemed fascinated by the idea. "I'll be in my workshop all day tomorrow, so how about we go for the day after that, around 1PM?"

Mark grabbed his hand and shook it. "That's fine by me, man. Fine by me."


	8. Loose Cannons

Out in the park, Carrie was training Wayne to use new styles of fighting, as she had promised the other day. "So, Mark couldn't make it, huh?", Wayne asked, attempting a diving kick.

"Yeah, he said he wanted to focus on the simulator today.", Carrie answered, blocking the kick. "It's not normally like him, though. He's generally the one who insists that we function as a unit. Heck, he even suggested I train Lulu using what I know."

"I know what you mean. Lulu also said Mark's been acting strange recently. At first, he seemed to be in a funk over something, but now whatever's bothering him has got him worked up. He's been like that ever since that day we spent training at the racing circuit." Wayne broke free of the hold his opponent had on him, gliding backwards and using his Sky Enforcer's burst mode to fire at her. Carrie was about to block, but ended up drawing her Beak Blaster on instinct, as opposed to the more practical Wing Saber. Predictably, she got hit and knocked out of her Ranger form. "How was that, coach?"

"That was actually a pretty clever move.", Carrie said in response. "If I wasn't someone who favoured a firearm, that wouldnt have worked. But thankfully, that robot is a marksman like me, so you'll be able to pull that off easily against him."/p

"That's good to know. Hopefully by that time, we'll have managed to find out what's wrong with Mark and resolve it. We don't know what he's going through right now."

* * *

At the Nest, Mark was, as he had told Carrie, in the simulator. Today, his attitude was far more ruthless than he was normally known for. He insisted on continuing to shoot or slash at enemies that had already been taken down. And when a holographic doppelgänger of Princess Halatia (recently added by Wayne to make the simulator more authentic) appeared, he merely assembled his Hyper Cannon and fired at her multiple times, screaming at the top of his lungs.

It was at this point that Commander Gordon, via Caldwell, ended the civilisation. "Goodman, are you sure you're ok?", the technician asked. "Your heart rate seems extremely amplified and adrenaline levels are almost dangerously high."

"I'm fine.", Mark huffed out. "I'm just making sure that I'm ready for the next time we face that Princess."

Caldwell didn't quite see where he was coming from. "For what reason?"

"The next time I see her, I'm going to kill her. Personally." In the main control room, the Commander was listening to what she had heard her Red Ranger say. And it did nothing to reassure her.

* * *

Aboard the Dominion ship, Halatia had heard a noise from Galvahex's personal quarters and decided to investigate. Inside, she saw the robot playing an authentic grand piano, straight from Earth. "What are you doing?", she asked. Not of anger, but more out of curiosity.

Galvahex stopped playing and turned around to answer her. "In the mind of the human woman we subjected to the brain scrape, the one the Red Ranger seeks, I saw multiple images of her playing this instrument. I feel, that if I am to truly understand and counteract the human's tactics, then I need to understand how they live as well as how they fight."

Halatia was intrigued, indicating for him to move so she could sit down. "I feel like I should be familiar with this instrument. In fact, I think it's called a piano." She then proceeded to play the piano not only like a professional, but playing a rather complicated symphony. "How do I know the workings of this device? And why do I have these memories of various people from Earth?" She then turned to Galvahex. "What did you do with that woman Mark Goodman seeks? The one who I resemble?"

"You should know what happens to brain scrape victims.", was the answer. "They are left with so little memory of their former lives, and so little resistance towards opposition, that it is not considered merciful to let them live on. But we did take her likeness for you to exist on Earth. It is likely that some memories, captured like a photograph in the flesh, have been transferred to you."

The Princess stopped to think about what he had said. " "Captured like a photograph"?" You've given me an idea."

* * *

Down on Earth, Matt and Eddie were currently leaning against a wall. "I don't know, what're we gonna do for our next job?", Eddie asked.

"I'm not sure.", Matt answered him. "Given the weirdness we've seen lately, like those teleporting weirdos and that living jet eat that guy, I'm afraid something is going to happen to us again."

It was then that a young couple came up to the two. Matt could tell that the two were newlywed tourists on a honeymoon. "Oh, hallo young mensch. We are here from Deutschland to celebrate our union. Would you mind taking a picture of us?" The man held out his camera to the two. "We'll pay you for helping us."

Matt immediately perked up. "Very well, Sir. We'll help you create a happy memory for your grandkids." Before he could take the camera, a beam of energy, actually a transformed Mutasect hit it, turning it into the Shutterbug monster.

"You don't need to take time to photograph these two.", Shutterbug announced. "In fact, I'll take a picture of all 4 of you." He did exactly that, but with the added catch that they disappeared after the flash, with the printed photograph depicting Matt, Eddie and the honeymooners in terrified poses.

"Excellent work, Shutterbug.", Halatia complimented as she teleported down to the site. "We know that your photo trapping powers work like a charm. Now we just need to turn this on the Flying Rangers."

* * *

At the Nest, the Commander's assistant Ratcliffe reported in. "Ma'am, we have word of a monster appearing in the city with the Princess Halatia." Mark, who was in the room waiting for word of an attack, took note of this. "We've got word of them heading for the park where Dr. Burley and Medical Operative Brown were training."

"Alert Corporal Hartford and Lulu to the danger at hand.", Gordon ordered. "Pilot Goodman, I know that you want to go after the Princess, but you should understand why I've…." But as she turned around, she saw that Mark had already exited the room. "Oh no, this can't be good."

* * *

At the park, Wayne and Carrie were finishing up, when they were ambushed by a group of Bio-Roids. "Looks like the Dominion doesn't acknowledge we're on a day off.", Wayne commented, engaging the enemy grunts.

"Apparently not.", Carrie said to acknowledge him. "But at least we can strike another blow at their operation."

It was then that Lulu, already morphed, appeared and began pulling off acrobatics manoeuvres to take down several Bio-Roids. "Sorry I'm late for the party, but I was invited."

"Don't forget about me.", Steven called out, flipping the arriving Shutterbug into some of the Bio-Roids.

Princess Halatia approached, sarcastically clapping. "Bravo, Rangers. You've managed to all fall into my trap." But as she said this, she noticed a certain absence. "Wait, where's the red one?"

As if on cue, Mark came flying in, screaming loudly. He immediately lunged at the Princess, slashing at her with his Wing Saber, shooting at her with his Beak Blaster and generally not letting her get a word in edgewise. Wayne was concerned. "Mark, are you okay?"

But as he came forward to try a cool down gesture, Mark turned around and slapped his hand away. "Back off, Wayne. She's mine!" He then summoned his Sky Enforcer and punched Wayne back with it. Lulu and Steven tried running in to fight, but Mark just shot at the with the Enforcer's Burst Mode. "I said BACK OFF! Do you understand?" He turned around to continue his fight, only for his powers to begin flickering. "No, don't do this!" But his powers shut off, with the chip in his bracelet forcefully ejecting itself onto the ground. Mark crouched down to try and find it, only for Lulu to hit him with her Beak Blaster.

"I'm sorry, Mark. This is for your own good.", she said to no-one in particular. Mark was knocked out and the others didn't need to hear or say it.

In this confusion, Shutterbug decided to go after Carrie, who was too shocked at Mark's unusual anger to react. "Well, if I can't get all the Rangers, then I can at least get one of them." He then shot at her with his beam, trapping her in one of his photos.

Halatia reached down and picked up the photo containing the White Ranger, deciding to show it off to the others. "What do you think? The lighting could be tweaked slightly, but it's otherwise a good angle." She then summoned a photo album and placed the picture inside.

Wayne was not happy to see this. "Nooo!", he cried out, running to try and reclaim the photograph, only for Halatia and Shutterbug to teleport away with the album. He then turned around to take charge. "Everyone, let's get back to the Nest." He then indicated the unconscious Mark. "And don't let him get loose. We need to have a talk."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Algrin and Fwelf had looked upon the action on a screen. "I can't believe it. The Princess is actually making progress in getting rid of the Rangers.", Fwelf said with some pleasure in his voice./p

"Yes.", Algrin nodded. "But can she keep it going?"

* * *

"What were you thinking?", Wayne yelled at Mark, who had woken up to find himself tied to a chair, with the situation explained to him in the least emotional way possible. "You are the one who's always talked up how well we work when we act as one. But then you promptly go and blow all that peaching away by attacking the Princess on your own and shooting at us when we try to help. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Halatia's face.", Mark barely managed to gasp out. "It's the same as hers…"

Lulu was confused. "The same as who's, Mark? You're not making sense." Mark could tell from her tone of voice that this was affecting her as well, even if she tried to hide it.

"I know who he's talking about.", the Commander interjected, saving Mark from trying to talk. "I noticed a while ago that Princess Halatia shares the exact same facial composite likeness as our missing comrade, Major James. Or as Mark here knows her, Mary. I assume that he has also seen this for himself."

"Yeah, I noticed.", Mark wheezed out. "At first, I thought that they were the same person, but then I saw that the Princess was just as willing to take us out as any other enemy, I knew they couldn't be. So I decided that I could take her out with a clear conscience."

"So that's why you've been acting so differently lately.", Lulu realised. "But you should have told the rest of us first. We could've helped..."

"No.", Mark slammed his fist down on the chair. "I knew when I realised the two were different that it's what she would've wanted me to do. Me and me alone."

Wayne was clearly disappointed when he heard this. "So you decided to just cut us out because of your own single mindedness. You know what, Goodman? I was actually starting to think you weren't as bad as I thought you were. But as it turns out, I was right on the money all along." Then the alarm sounded, alerting the people in the base that Shutterbug had been spotted elsewhere. "We're not done here.", he said as he walked out of the room, indicating for the others to follow him. Steven followed after him without words.

Lulu walked to the door and turned around to address her brother. "Just so you know, I forgive you. But you're going to have to do a lot of work to make it up to those two." With that said, she was gone, leaving Mark alone with the Commander.

* * *

In town, Shutterbug had taken to attacking various innocent civilians in order to lure the Rangers out. But he had to be careful with how many people he actually victimised, due to the space in Halatia's photo album. But there were still plenty of free pages, fortunately enough for him (unfortunately for anyone else). "Man, I'm getting a variety of interesting shots from these humans. I could publish a calendar."

"I doubt it would sell for much.", Lulu commented as she jumped down and landed a punch on his chest. "Especially since you're imprisoning most of the target market."

"Is this really the time.", Wayne asked as he and Steven entered the scene. "We need to take this guy down and get Carrie back."

But before they could actually do that, Shutterbug took the initiative and took a photograph of the three as they were charging towards him. He then reached down and picked it up. "I've managed 4 out of 5 Rangers in just two photos. Which means that I have to make sure that the Red one is my masterpiece."

"Don't worry about that.", Halatia assured him, as she appeared and took the photo. "Even if it's not your best, I'll still appreciate it."

* * *

Back in the Nest, Mark was still tied to the chair. "Let me go. My friends are in trouble. I need to go out there and help them." But the Commander didn't listen. Instead, she merely took out a tape and inserted it into a player. The music on the tape was a soothing piano medley, which made the tied-up Red calm down. (Authors note: this is the same tune that the Princess was playing on the piano earlier)

"I knew this would have an effect on you.", Gordon noted. "You know this particular tune, I presume?"

"I do.", Mark notes, his voice now totally relaxed. "Whenever I was feeling particularly down in the dumps, she would play this to make me feel better. Mary was probably the best piano player I've ever heard." Then he had a realisation. "This is why I've been so angry lately. I haven't had her influence to keep me calm. And that's been affecting my judgement these last few days."

The Commander clapped and went to untie Mark. "Well Goodman, I think now that you've managed to shake off what's been affecting you, I think you're ready to return to the field. With Dr. Burley's new weapon."

"New weapon?", Mark asked.

"Is there an echo in here? Wayne's modified your rover launcher so that it can turn into a powerful bazooka, powered by the energies of your Ranger powers. Which reminds me." She then handed Mark the red hawk chip that had been ejected from his bracelet. "I believe this is yours, Red Ranger."

* * *

Some time later, Mark, now morphed, drove into the quarry in the Rover Launcher. "Alright, Princess. I'm the last one on your to-do list, so show up with your camera friend and let's get this over with."

Sure enough, Halatia responded, appearing with Shutterbug. "I'm surprised you're so eager, Mark Goodman. But then again, I would want to end it all if my comrades were all gone."

Mark looked up. "Oh, I'm here for my photo, but don't think I won't be using accessories." He reached and pressed a button on his bracelet

**Cannon Mode.**

The Rover Launcher folded back its front wheels and hood to transform into a cannon, that flew over to Mark. "Let's see how you like my camera. He promptly aimed at Shutterbug. "I just hope that this thing had all the bugs worked out." As Shutterbug pressed the button to take his picture, Mark also pressed a button. The fire button.

**Red Charge! Firebird Shot!**

The cannon fired with such force that Mark was sent flying backwards across the quarry. The beam continued to fight with Shutterbug's, but eventually overpowered it and went through. Galvahex teleported In to try and block the shot, only for the resulting hit to lock his arm off and send him and Shutterbug flying. "So this is the power the humans now possess. Interesting."

The blast had also knocked the photo album out of Halatia's hands, freeing everyone trapped in the photos as the album disintegrated. The freed people then reappeared a few feet away. "What happened?", asked a confused Carrie. "Did we beat that guy?"

Mark ran over to the others, as the rest of the people all wisely decided to get out of there. "Maybe photography's not really in our cards.", Eddie suggested to Matt as they went.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier.", Mark said to his team. "I was letting my anger get the better of me, which was clouding my judgement."

"Hey, don't sweat it.", Wayne insisted. "When the chips were down, you were willing to help your friends rather than take revenge." He then reached out his hand, with Mark letting him put it on his shoulder this time. "And that's all we ask of you, Mark."

"Well, this forgiveness is great and all, but can we get back to giving this camera creep his photo finish?", Lulu asked.

Carrie punched her hand with her other hand. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

The four Rangers that were captured then stepped forward and pressed their change bracelets, calling "Let's Fly!" With a flash, all of them were now morphed into their Ranger forms.

Halatia was livid to see that her plan had failed. "Get them!", she ordered.

* * *

And thus a battle commenced. Mark took out a couple of Bio-Roids before coming face-to-faceplate with Galvahex, who was just as deadly with one arm as he was with two. He managed to fire a shot from his remaining arm and grab the Red Ranger by the ankle during his kick. "Wayne Burley isn't the only human I've been analysing the fighting style of, Mark Goodman." The robot then spun around threw him against the rocks.

Mark however, was able to rebound and attack again. "But have you computed this, wire-brain?", he asked as he managed to score a hit on Galvahex that knocked him down.

* * *

Elsewhere, Carrie and Lulu were fighting with Princess Halatia. The Princess was currently trying to hit White Ranger with her sceptre's whip function. "Why is it that I can never be rid of you cockroaches?", she yelled.

"It's because if humans are like bugs in any way, it's that we always crawl our way back.", Carrie answered, avoiding the whip and shooting at the Princess with her Beak Blaster.

Then Lulu flew at the Princess. "So no matter how hard you shoot us down, we always get back up.", she added to Carrie's mini-speech. She then slashed at the Princess until she was unconscious. "That's for causing my brother unnecessary emotional turmoil." She then turned back towards a confused Carrie. "It's a long story."

* * *

In the centre of the quarry, Wayne and Steven were taking on Shutterbug. Black jumped onto Yellow's shoulder and the two fired at the monster. Then Wayne jumped off and pulled his Wing Saber. "Condor Break!" He slashed at Shutterbug, knocking him backwards.

"Come on, two against one is hardly fair.", the monster complained.

Then Wayne and Steven repeated their strategy, only this time with Yellow jumping on Black. "Here's an express delivery.", Steven called out, throwing a large boulder at Shutterbug, knocking him down.

The team then regrouped around the fallen Shutterbug. "Alright.", Mark said. "I'll show you what our new weapon can do." The Rover Launcher then hovered over to the five, who each took a hold of part of it.

**Red Black Yellow White Blue Charge! All Charge, Combine! Full Power!**

Mark then set the targeting system to target Shutterbug. "Target locked. Fire!" He then pressed the button.

**Maximum Firebird Bombardment!**

A larger blast than the one that had disarmed Galvahex emerged from the barrel and hit Shutterbug head on, incinerating him. However, the Mutasect survived, using the residual kinetic energy from the blast to reconstruct its body as a giant. "I always knew I'd make it big.", he declared upon being reborn.

The 5 Rangers looked up at this. "I guess even this isn't enough to stop them growing."

"It's a good thing we have the vehicles then.", Mark commented, activating his communicator.

**Vehicle Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Take Off! Go, Go!  
**

The 5 vehicles appeared, with the Rangers teleporting into them. "Let's get this over with quickly. Icarus Bomber!" The 5 placed their chips in the combination ports.

**Action Shift, On! Plane! Sonic! Jet! Zoom! Flier! Icarus Bomber! Go, Go!  
**

The 5 combined into their jet formation. "I don't like the way this picture is developing.", Shutterbug gulped. Sure enough the Bomber crashed into the monster, destroying him once and for all.

* * *

On the ground, Galvahex picked up his discarded arm. "This is nothing. I can easily repair myself." Sure enough, he reattached it to himself very quickly and simply. Then he walked over to the prone body of the Princess. "But unfortunately, you cannot. Once you and your beauty are tarnished, then they can never be repaired or recovered. Not without losing what makes you unique. I wish I could be more honest with you over who you really are, but Algrin has restricted my programming so that I cannot." He picked up the body and walked away, teleporting back to the ship after a while."

* * *

The next morning, Mark invited the whole team and the Commander around to his house. In order to fully make up for his behaviour yesterday, he had decided to have an outdoor barbecue. "I'm not really the best chef in the world,"….

"He means that.", Lulu commented.

…"but I hope this shows there are no hard feelings between us.", Mark continued.

"You really didn't need to do this.", Wayne told him. "But we appreciate the effort. It's been a while since I had barbecued food."

"I've personally never had barbecued food.", the Commander stated. "I've never really been told the appeal of it."

Carrie nudged here towards the grill. "Why don't you see for yourself?" The rest of the team laughed at the sight of Carrie casually manhandling June Gordon, which was the first event of the first real time they'd got together outside the job since they started fighting the Dominion. They internally hoped that there would be more times like this in the future, knowing that the battles would only get harder, even with the new Rover Launcher.


	9. Art Attack

"Come on, slowpoke.", Carrie said, naggingly dragging Wayne into the library. "If you go any slower, you'll make us late for the signing."

"Why should I care?", Wayne asked. "I'm only here because you wanted to bring me along. I don't even know this hack we've come to see."

Carrie was clearly annoyed to see Wayne refer to her author as a "hack". "Teresa Court is only one of my favourite authors ever. She penned The Swallow Handmaiden, which is one of THE definitive stories about a young maid who overcomes hardship and begins to improve herself."

Wayne tutted. "Sounds like EVERY book with a female protagonist I've had described to me. Well, if you want your book to have an autograph, then I'll join you IF I can get a book of my own."

"Alright then, since you're the only one who wanted to come with me. I already go a lot of places with Steven, Lulu said she's not much of a reader and Mark just started going off on a rant about Gulliver's Travels being one of the best works ever put to print. What kinds of books do you like."

"I'm mostly into books about mythical creatures. Namely because my brother's a big cryptozoology geek. He managed to coerce me into buying new books for him while he takes his teacher training courses. I'm not really a believer in that sort of thing, but I've taken to reading these books before sending them to him in Harwood County. They're really good stuff." Wayne looked up to see that Carrie had already joined the queue for the book signing. "I guess it's hard to make a girl pay attention to you when you're discussing how dragons and Sasquatches might be real.", he shrugged.

* * *

Aboard his ship, Algrin was confronting Fwelf. "I've noticed you haven't done much since we came to this wretched planet."

"I almost sent the Red Ranger away from Earth for good.", the dwarfish humanoid said sheepishly.

Algrin wasn't won over. "Key word "almost". All that resulted in was Tann threatening to breath down our necks in addition to the Queen. Now with Princess Halatia unconscious and Galvahex out of commission for upgrades, you and I will have to pull some more weight around here."

Fwelf gulped at this, which was followed by Algrin pulling out his sword, a sight Fwelf knew couldn't be good. "I'll just get to work on finding a new base for a Mutasect. Preferably somewhere with a large gathering of humans to enslave or annihilate." He summoned a Mutasect from their pen and teleported out after pressing a few tiny buttons on his gauntlet.

"You'd better succeed at this plan.", Algrin mused. "Or Queen Uuhcura will have all our hides."

* * *

Back in the library, Wayne was still browsing through the fantasy books. "Hmm, a book on Japanese demons. I'm sure he'll find this interesting.", he said as he flicked through it, finding pages on what the book called "Piggyback Ghost". "If he can get past the bad translations, that is." As he closed the book and headed to the checkout, he bumped into the woman in all black that Carrie and Steven had met on the bus. "Oh I'm sorry. Didn't see you there."

"What brings you to this place today?", the woman asked him.

Wayne got nervous about this. "Well, I'm not entirely here by choice. My friend came here to get her book signed by the author and I decided to tag along to get some stuff for my bro."

"I see.", the woman commented, her tone unchanged from her previous question. "Do you always do as others want you to do, even when you do not wish to do so?"

Wayne was getting annoyed by now. "No, I'm merely doing it because I want to help them." As he said this, he noticed Fwelf placing a Mutasect on a blank sketchbook. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I have to -." But the woman was gone, leaving little evidence she had been there. "I'd better just go."

* * *

Meanwhile, Carrie had reached Teresa Court's table with her copy of The Swallow Handmaiden. "Can you make this out to "Your biggest fan, Caroline Brown"?", she asked, almost as giddy as a schoolgirl.

"That's original.", Mrs. Court tutted, opening the cover of the book and writing the message that had been dictated to her. "So what brings a young woman like you to my book signing?"

Carrie tried to compose herself, and for the most part, she succeeded. "Well, when I was a little girl, your books helped me escape from my tedious rich girl lifestyle. The adventures of Vicky Vale gave me an idea of how the other half lived, and it opened my eyes onto the true nature of the world. I learned that people out there were constantly struggling to make it through life, and that inspired me to become a military nurse."

"Well that's nice, darling.", came the response. "It's good to know there are still people who read books in this day and age of video games and cassette tapes."

It was at this point that a new monster, made of paper walked into the room. "Reading books is always so passé. I always preferred looking at the pictures." He then started firing flakes of confetti in every possible direction, all of which hit pictures, illustrations and photographs. The images then climbed out of their portraits and began attacking the civilians. "That's it my new army. Gaminator commands you to rise up against your creators. For the glory of the Dominion." Carrie was about to run into him, but he teleported away, presumably to find more artwork to animate.

"Mrs. Court, I suggest you get out of here for your own safety." The writer nodded and made her way to the emergency exit. Carrie immediately charged at a knight that had been brought to life, calling out "For honour and glory" and other similar phrases. "Yeah, I've got your glory right here.", she said, delivering a sharp right hook which tore through the knight's body, causing him to turn into shreds of paper. "Okay, apparently being a drawing brought to life isn't enviable."

"Loot! Pillage!", a random Viking called out, swinging his axe at Carrie. Luckily Wayne stepped in to fight back.

"No, none of those things here.", Wayne commented as he punched the Viking into shreds of paper. "Just lunkheads and punches."

Then the two of them were hit with a flute piece that knocked them down. "How the heck is he doing damage with a flute?"

"I assume it must be part of his story.", Wayne commented. Before the flutist could finish them off, a shot was fired, destroying his leg and forcing him to hobble away. The two Rangers turned around to see Mark standing there, fully morphed, Beak Blaster in hand. "How did you know to come here?"

"Your bracelets have an emergency alert function designed to sound when a Mutasect is nearby.", the Red Ranger answered. It let me know you might be in trouble so I came as quick as I could."

"Well that's good, we can swap notes.", Carrie said. "This one can take images from anything on paper and bring it to life. But when they get hit, they begin to crumble into bits of paper. It's a good thing you took out that guy, his flute or ocarina or whatever almost got the better of us."

"You think we could use it as a weapon against him.", Mark asked.

"It's worth a shot.", Wayne replied. "Let's fan out and look for that guy again."

As the three went their own separate ways, Carrie was shocked to see a 19th century parlour maid. In particular, the one from the cover of her book. "Excuse me Miss. but is this the house of Lord Elderton?", the maid asked.

* * *

In the park, Gaminator reappeared, using his powers to bring assassins, jet fighters and dragon heads to life to attack the citizens. Nearby, the musical assassin that had almost taken out Wayne and Carrie collapsed into confetti, leaving nothing but his ocarina.

* * *

"Look, this is too weird for me.", Carrie said to the maid. "Are you really Vicky Vale, brought to life by that thing's confetti attack?"

"I wouldn't be anyone else Miss, would I?", Vicky responded. "Why else would I show up to one of the most prestigious houses in London?"

"You're not saying anything that makes sense!", Carrie screamed, before having a realisation. "No wait, you can only say what Teresa Court wrote for you in the book. Like in an old tv show I saw that one time." She decided to test the theory. "What are you aiming for by working here, girl? The most prestigious house in all of London Town?" She had just quoted a line from the interview chapter.

"Well, I'm hoping to gain both experience as a maid for future references and to support myself as an independent woman. Without relying on my father's work as a coal miner. I'd work in a match factory, but I've heard bad things and there ain't no positions at any match factories 'round here."

Carrie was excited. Seeing your favourite character in real life would be a dream come true for many people in real life, and Carrie was no exception. It just pained her that instead of being independent, she was just a human parrot, repeating everything that had been written for her. But it did give her an idea. She hated having to do it, but drastic times. "I'm looking for an important object for a critical task. The future of my business depends on it." Thank god she didn't have to try hard to do a rich person impression; it was in her blood.

"Of course, m'lady.", Vicky lowered her head. "Name it and it shall be recovered."

"I need to find a flute. Or possibly an ocarina. It was last seen in that direction. Please recover it and bring it to my location, preferably testing to see if it works without obstruction."

"As you wish, ma'am.", the maid curtsied and made her way out into the street. Carrie smiled, knowing that she could now focus on taking down that paper-boy.

* * *

Algrin didn't like the way events were developing. "If the Rangers get their hands on that ocarina, then Gaminator can say goodbye to his plans."

Fwelf gulped. "I'll send down some Bio-Roids sir."

* * *

Elsewhere, Mark had discovered the trail of destruction left in the wake of Gaminator's creations. "If people weren't thinking of moving out of the city before…." He was interrupted before he could finish that comment by the same woman in black that had approached Wayne earlier.

"What brought you to this place?", the woman asked.

Mark felt put on the spot, but that didn't stop him from answering. "I came here following that paper monster's wave of destruction. If I can find him, I can put a stop to him."

"I see. What compels you to destroy this "monster"?", the woman responded.

"Are you kidding?", Mark said, annoyed at her insinuation. "That thing is hurting people. The people he works for have hurt people, some of them close to me. By defeating him, I make sure that everyone he targeted is safe." He then turned away from the woman and continued on his way, opening his communicator. "Commander, did you get that conversation with that woman?"

"Indeed I did.", Gordon replied. "Unfortunately, there are no records on Earth of anyone with her likeness or vocal patterns. But she'll have to be dealt with later. For now, let's focus on the Mutasect."

As if on cue, Gaminator appeared, accompanied by a squadron of Bio-Roids and Fwelf, who introduced himself. "So you're the Red Ranger that's been giving us so much trouble. I have to say, it'll be a privilege to bring you down."

Mark was confused, not recognising this little man. "And you are?"

"Ah yes, forgive me.", came the response. "I am Fwelf, junior technical officer of Viscount Algrin's warship. And the orchestrator of your doom." With that said, he fired a beam from his gauntlet, knocking back Mark, who responded by morphing.

"Wing Saber!" Mark drew his weapon and ran towards Fwelf, who promptly teleported away. "I guess that leaves me with you guys to take out."

"I don't think so.", Gaminator commented. He pulled out a mural of rampaging barbarians and waved his confetti over it. The barbarians in the mural promptly came to life, armed to the teeth and ready for the kill. "Get 'im, boys.", the Mutasect commanded.

The barbarians charged at Mark, only to be shot at by the arriving Carrie and Lulu. "Remember Lulu, these aren't real people. You can go nuts on them."

"Good to know.", Lulu replied. "I'd hate to think I was hurting actual barbarians." She promptly engaged in acrobatics manoeuvres again the enemy, knocking some of them into confetti. "Though the cleanup could get difficult."

"Thanks for the help, girls.", Mark nodded. "But what are we doing about the ocarina?"

"I have a friend looking for that.", Carrie assured him. "She'll be here as soon as she's found it."

It was at this point that Wayne appeared, accompanied by Steven. "That's good. It gives us more time to smack these barbarians around."

"I'm up for that.", Steven added, beginning to smack some around with his Sky Enforcer.

* * *

In another area of the park, Vicky came across the ocarina, laying next to a tiny pile of confetti. "This looks important.", she said to herself. "The lady will want to see this." She picked it up and, as instructed earlier, began playing the instrument. This produced a repetitive, but haunting melody, which weakened several others around her, with many of them collapsing into confetti. But she put this fact aside for now. She needed to complete the task she had been given.

* * *

Aboard the ship, Algrin was worried by this turn of events. "If she gets that ocarina to the Rangers, Gaminator will be finished." He then sent a telepathic message to the Mutasect. "There's a human female coming your way with an instrument that can weaken you. Destroy her."

"Okay, boss.", Gaminator replied, sarcastically. He didn't really believe this warning. He just prepared to fight the Rangers.

* * *

Sure enough, the Rangers had made short work of the barbarians and the Bio-Roids and now made their way towards Gaminator. Mark and Steven slashed at him with their Wing Sabers, Lulu and Carrie punched him with their Sky Enforcers and Wayne did a diving kick with both his legs. The combined hits of these attacks knocked Gaminator down. "Alright team, let's shoot him down.", Mark commanded. The team nodded in agreement and pointed their Beak Blasters at him."

Gaminator, desperate for an advantage, launched a piece of confetti at the locket that Mark had dropped earlier. The picture of Mary within said locket promptly turned into a copy of the real Mary. "No, stop.", the fake called out. "Don't hurt him."

As the 5 Rangers turned towards the fake Mary in confusion, Gaminator took the opportunity to attack them. "You fools fell for the oldest trick in the book." He then positioned himself to finish off his opponents...

...Only to suddenly repulse in pain. The fake Mary promptly collapsed and was reduced to confetti. Gaminator looked up to see Vicky Vale walking towards him, playing the ocarina from the game book for Ultimate Fantasy 4. He knew he should have heeded the warning Algrin gave him.

Carrie was pleased. "Vicki did it. She came through."

Gaminator was less happy to see the maid. "You meddlesome hussey. I gave you life and his is how you repay me? Then taste this." He blasted the maid with streamers from his hand, knocking her down.

"Vicky, no!", Carrie cried out. She knew that the maid was merely a fictional character animated by a monster, but she didn't care. The death of her favourite fictional character still upset her.

"Happy to be of service, m'lady.", Vicky managed to wheeze out. Then she crumbled into confetti and blew away in the wind, leaving nothing but the ocarina. Mark ran over to pick it up, holding it close to his chest.

"Don't worry, I won't let your sacrifice go to waste.", he whispered.

"Oh boo hoo. The poor little servant girl got what was coming to her.", Gaminator mocked.

Mark angrily clenched his fist. "That's it paper-boy. Desecrating my girlfriend's image was bad enough, but mocking an innocent handmaiden? You're gonna pay." He then proceeded to attack Gaminator with his Sky Enforcer, before slashing at him with his Wing Saber once again. Gaminator almost got a hit in, but Mark recovered enough to knock the paper monster onto his back. "Alright. Rover Launcher!"

**Cannon Mode! Red Black Yellow White Blue Charge! All Charge Combine! Full Power!**

"Do you know what happens to paper when it's lit on fire?", Mark asked. Then he pressed the fire button. "What do you think?"

**Maximum Firebird Bombardment!**

Gaminator was hit head on by the blast, being reduced to nothing. However, the Mutasect absorbed the flames of its own destruction, allowing it to grow into a giant Gaminator, complete with a more prominent mouth. "This book has hit it big."

"The last guy already made that joke.", Lulu shouted out.

"Commander, we need the vehicles.", Mark said into his communicator.

**Take Off! Go, Go!**

After teleporting into the vehicles, Mark lead the others in inserting their chips into the console. "Icarus Megazord."

**Action Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Icarus Megazord! Take Off! Go, Go!**

With the Icarus formed, Gaminator decided to go for stealth, teleporting all over the battlefield. "Catch me if you can, Rangers." Mark tried throwing a Beak Dagger at the monster, but that ended up missing.

"Let's see him teleport away from this.", Mark commented, activating the Icarus Saber. "Icarus Saber, Electro Mode!" The Icarus held up its weapon, launching electricity in all directions. Eventually, Gaminator teleported into the bolt, getting knocked down. "Well that was a shocker."

"Now let's see a classic move in action.", Mark said, using the Icarus Saber for its usual function. Within seconds, Gaminator was destroyed again, this time for good.

* * *

On board his ship, Algrin blasted Fwelf with lightning for his failure. "You stupid incompetent! You couldn't even handle this single task."

Fwelf cried out in pain. "Please Master, give me another chance."

* * *

Some time later, the Rangers were now partaking in cleanup duties for all the confetti the defeated creations of Gaminator had left behind. "Most of our missions don't require this level of work.", Lulu complained.

"Most of our missions don't result in littering.", Carrie responded. "Well, I can't say these things were all bad. One of them did come through for us in the end."

"Mostly because of your influence.", Steven said in reply. "If you hadn't taken advantage of that Vicki girl being in character, we probably wouldn't have made it out this time."

"Well, the point is that we did make it out.", Mark said. "And as long as we keep making it out, we'll be able to save the Earth and send these aliens running. Now keep going. Whoever picks up the most confetti gets a free soda on me."

"Is that a promise?", Wayne asked. "In that case, let's make it so that our later encounters don't make such a mess. You'll go bankrupt paying for our drinks."


	10. Bad Fortunes

Aboard his ship, Algrin was being visited by an unwelcome surprise. Namely, a messenger from Queen Uuhcura, short and squat with reptilian features. "You don't have much time left.", the messenger said. "The Queen will arrive to oversee you in a few days."

Algrin wasn't happy to hear this. "Don't you think I know that, you cretin? I've been trying to conquer this planet for months." He turned around and slapped the messenger.

"We'd succeed too, if it weren't for those meddling Rangers.", Halatia added. She whipped at the repulsive creature with her sceptre. "So tell our royal mother that we can handle this operation ourselves."

The messenger was left in a daze at the sight of the woman. "Who are you again?", he managed to sputter out.

Galvahex was not happy to hear this, shooting at the messenger's feet with his rifle. "Show some respect for the Crown Princess, you maggot. She will one day be your superior."

"Yes, yes. Future superior. I understand.", the messenger said. "I'll just be taking my leave now." With that, he teleported out, presumably to report back to his Queen.

"Fwelf decided to speak for the first time since the messenger had shown up. "He does have a point, you know. Our mission was to take over this planet for the Dominion. But what do we have to show for it?"

"A few days in recuperation, some fear among the humans and a Prince threatening to breath down our necks.", Galvahex answered. "Our encounters with the Flying Rangers have mostly been treated as a game, which may have affected our efficiency. We need to isolate and annihilate the individual Rangers."

It was then that Princess Halatia stepped forward. "Luckily, I've had a Mutasect waiting in standby on Earth for exactly such an occasion. Her name is Predictra, and she has the ability to foresee the future. But she also has the ability to create a bad future from the negative thoughts of anyone."

Algrin was intrigued. "When did you create this "Predictra" exactly?"

"During our first day on Earth.", came the answer. "While you were carrying out my orders to find suitable hosts, I took the opportunity to do likewise. I found a crystal ball used by humans to try and tell their futures. I decided that it would make a good host in terms of power set. I then ordered her to lay low disguised as a human, until such a time as I needed her."

"Then I suppose you think now is the time to bring her talents into action?"

The Princess nodded and smiled. "Indeed I do."

* * *

Sometime later, Carrie was walking through the streets of Winter Valley. Since the Dominion had begun their attacks, the number of people she saw had decreased dramatically. Some of them had decided that the town was a hazard area and left, others were simply staying at home in fear for their lives. Carrie supposed it was one benefit to the Dominion's continued attacks. It made the streets a hell of a lot quieter. Mostly.

Carrie was disrupted from her train of thought by a head on collision from a pair of men, one short and black, the other tall, both of them obviously dinguses. She vaguely recognised them from a while ago. "Aren't you that pair who reported that museum guard for bank robbery?", she asked. She remembered that week as the one where a Mutasect was inverting personalities, including one of her teammates.

"We don't remember doing that.", the short one - Matt - said in response. "We just came from this new fortune teller that just opened on this street."

"Her name's Lady Esmeraulde.", the tall one - Eddie - added. "She's really good at her job too. She predicted I'd get a job offer and Matt here hen suggested we make our next big event."

"That's nice.", Carrie said to them. "But I'm just not the type of girl who falls for these scam artists and their extortionate prices." With that said, she carried on walking, only to run into a woman in a stereotypical gypsy outfit. That must be Lady Esmeraulde, she thought. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Whatever you're charging, I'm not paying."

"No, no. You have me all wrong.", the fortune teller said sweetly. "You are of Asian descent, yes?"

Carrie was slightly shocked to hear this, but then composed herself. It was slightly obvious from her skin colour. "Yes. My mother was from Wakayama Prefecture. What's your point?"

"We offer discounts for people of Asian descent.", Lady Esmeraulde answered. "We give further reductions for people born under Aquarius. Won't you come in my child?"

As Lady Esmeraulde re-entered her tent, Carrie was left speechless. She could overlook the ethnicity bit, but how did this woman know she was an Aquarius by birth? Intrigued, she decided to enter the tent and have her fortune told.

* * *

Elsewhere, Wayne was waiting around in alley, having been asked to go there by Mark. He assumed the worst and had dressed in an outfit that used as little padding as possible. It consisted of a white shirt and a fabric jacket, with comfortable trousers. He heard someone approaching and turned around, only to see that it was Mark, dressed in his regular Air Force uniform, sans the jacket. This exposed his prominent red shirt. "I thought I'd find you if I looked for a red shirt."

"And all I had to look out for was your dyed blonde hair in a black outfit.", Mark returned. "They obviously never got round to teaching you the value of stealth before you had to drop out."

"I assume you didn't call me hear to trade cracks about each other's fashion sense.", Wayne responded. "What's got you wound up this time?"

"A woman in black.", was Mark's answer. "I saw her in the park just before we took down Gaminator. She asked a few weird questions and then vanished. I asked Gordon about it, and she says there's no record of the woman's face anyway."

"I think I also saw a woman like that. She was at the library before Gaminator was created, asking me a load of weird stuff. Have you checked if the others know anything?"

Mark shook his head. "Lulu hasn't seen anyone like that, but Steven recalls seeing the woman talking to Carrie on the bus that became Brakedecker. We're still at square one with this case."

"And with no leads, we don't even know where to start looking.", Wayne mused.

* * *

Elsewhere, Carrie was beginning her session with Lady Esmeraulde, who had arranged 4 piles of 4 tarot cards. "So, what are the profiles of your co-workers, Miss Brown?", she asked.

Carrie nervously sputtered the answer out. "I work with 3 Caucasians, 2 male, one female. I also work with one person of colour, who is my charge as a nurse."

"Ah, I see.", the woman replied. "Then these cards will be perfect for you." She picked out one of the piles and laid out the 4 cards. "And your middle name is…?"

"Rika. It was the name of my mother's sister."

"Very good. Now then, pick the card second from the left."

Carrie had reservations, but eventually took he specified card. She then turned it over. "It's the Hangman.", she said. "What does that mean?"

Lady Esmeraulde was shocked. "Oh dear, this is not good for you, my dear. Not good at all."

Carrie didn't like the sound of that. "In what way?"

"The Hangman represents sacrifice in tarot predictions.", Esmeraulde explained. "You are fated to die if you continue on your path of life. Observe my crystal ball."

_Carrie did so, as the crystal ball began shaking, showing a clear image. In the image, Carrie as the White Ranger was battling Bio-Roids at the dock. Then Princess Halatia came along and began fighting her. However, Carrie saw herself eventually fall to the Princess's attacks, with her body ending up in a coffin, with the lid closing. It wasn't a fully realistic image, but it's message was clear enough._

Carrie pulled herself back with shock. "No! That can't be the future. There must be a way to change that image."

"I'm afraid there isn't.", Esmeraulde said with an apologetic tone. "Lady Esmeraulde is never wrong whenever she makes a prediction. What I have shown you is what you are fated towards." Carrie, still in shock, darted herself out of the room, after which the woman began laughing as she pulled the Hierophant card out of her waistcoat. "The little Ranger fell for my ruse because I took her true card out of the deck. How was that, Lady Halatia?"

"A brilliant performance indeed.", came Halatia's response as she teleported in. "Thanks to your manipulation of her draw, Caroline Brown is going to have a very unhappy ending. And with one of their own fallen, the other Rangers will soon follow. Now, prepare for action, Predictra."

"As you wish." With that said, "Lady Esmeraulde" disappeared, with the candelabras, table and crystal ball merging together in a burst of energy to create her true form, Predictra. "I see nothing but bad luck in the Rangers' futures."

* * *

A few days later, Mark, Wayne, Steven, Lulu and Commander Gordon had all been called to a warehouse near the docks. "Anyone have a clue why we're here?", Lulu asked.

"Nope.", Steven said in response. "Got an invitation, so I showed up."

Wayne looked around. "It doesn't appear that Carrie is here. I wonder why."

Gordon nodded at this. "Medical Officer Brown hasn't been acting normal for a few days.", she noted. "I'm getting worried, but she assures me nothing is wrong."

"What's this I hear about Carrie Brown?" Everyone turned in the direction of the voice. The source was a middle-aged man in a sharp suit, with black hair swept back.

Lulu leaned in to whisper to her brother. "Who's this guy?"

The man heard her. "'This guy' is Daniel Brown, one of the 35 richest people in this country. And the father of the aforementioned Miss Carrie Brown." Wayne immediately decided to straighten his posture and check his hair.

"June Gordon, United States Military.",the group's superior reached her hand out for a shake, which was reciprocated. "I'm your daughter's employer. These people are her, shall we say, co-workers. I'm not permitted to say much else."

"Ah yes, I understand, official secrets and all that.", Mr. Brown replied. "And am I hearing things, or did one of you say something's wrong with my daughter?"

"You weren't hearing things, sir.", Wayne answered, barely hiding his nervousness. "For the last few days, she's been acting slightly jumpy and getting scared at the mere mention of (he paused for a second to think of a good cover story) certain problems."

As if on cue, the lights in the other half of the room turned on, showing a stage on which Carrie was standing next to a table with several items. Everyone noticed that she was not only dressed like she was going to a funeral, but she was trying desperately to stay smiling. "Thank you all for coming. I apologise for the massively short notice, but I don't really have a lot of time afterwards.", she said.

Everyone was confused by this introduction. "Why don't you have a lot of time, Carrie?", Lulu asked.

But Carrie ignored the question, instead taking bags from the table and starting to give them out to everyone, starting with Mark. "I just know you'll find your special girl one day. And when you do, I want you to wear this." Mark opened the bag, seeing a bottle of fancy cologne, plus a t-shirt with his and Mary's faces on them in a heart shape. Mark was too impressed to ask where she got the picture from.

Then Carrie took the second bag to Lulu. "Girl, I know that you have the potential to be a great martial artist someday. So to keep you motivated, I'm giving you the first trophy I ever won." Sure enough, Lulu looked in the bag to see a trophy with a plaque commemorating "Caroline Brown for her amazing performance at the State Finals, 1983".

"Thanks.", Lulu said with some confusion.

The next to receive a gift was Commander Gordon. "You probably aren't going to use this much, if at all. I just couldn't think of what else to get you. We didn't really know each other that well." When Gordon looked in the bag, all she found was a mug labelled "World's best boss". But the Commander was more fixated on what Carrie had said. Namely, her use of the word "didn't".

Next on the wait list to receive a gift was Wayne. "We haven't known each other that well, but I still decided that you required some thought. I remembered you had an interest in mythical creatures, so I decided to get you this." She handed him a book, entitled "In Search of… Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece."

"This is nice.", Wayne replied. "Is there a reason you're being so generous?"

"Oh, nothing serious.", Carrie lied. "Just thought I'd get everyone in my life a nice gift." From nearby, her father saw this and could tell she was lying.

Carrie moved on to her penultimate guest. "Steven, I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you get your memories of your old life back. I can only hope you have good luck adapting to your new life." Steven opened the bag he had been given to find a camera and an album. "And now, last but by no means least…"

Daniel Brown stopped her before she could give him his bag. "Giving our all these gifts is good of you, but I'm worried about your behaviour."

Carrie instantly became defensive. "What are you talking about? I'm fine."

But her father put his hand on her shoulder. "May I talk to you, dear? Father to daughter?"

"We'll give you two some privacy.", Gordon replied, ushering the other 4 out of the building.

* * *

Outside the building, the 4 began to discuss what just happened. "I can't be the only one who noticed something's off, can I?", Lulu asked.

"No, I noticed something too.", Steven answered her.

Wayne nodded. "You could tell it from space. If only we knew what "it" is."

Gordon decided to chime in, now that she had the opportunity to say something. "I think that Officer Brown thinks her days are numbered."

"What makes you think that?", Mark asked.

"Her body language. It's the type that is displayed either by a criminally insane person, or someone who thinks they are about to die."

"But who gave her that idea?", Lulu asked.

"That would be me.", the 4 Rangers and Gordon turned around to see Predictra, standing out in the open. "I might have predicted a future where she is a victim of the dangers of her career choices."

"A Mutasect did this to Carrie?", Steven asked.

"Looks like it.", Mark answered. "We'll just have to deal with it. Let's Ranger up."

The others nodded and pressed their bracelets in sync with Mark. "Let's Fly!" Within a flash, a wireframe formed around them, generating their suits.

Predictra chuckled. "So you are the Flying Rangers that have given the Lady Halatia so much trouble. I'll just have to deal with you as well as the White one." She waved her arms opening a vortex, into which the 4 were sucked. Pleased with her work, Predictra departed, not noticing Commander Gordon, who had hidden herself in the shadows.

"I have to inform Carrie of this.", the one calling herself June Gordon thought as she made her way back into the building.

* * *

The 4 Rangers woke up in a black void. "What is this place?", Mark asked.

"Knowing the Dominion, it's nowhere pleasant.", Lulu answered.

Wayne pulled himself up. "I think we should try to get out of here." The others nodded and turned around, only to come face to face with a giant spectral Predictra.

"Now now, little Rangers, you don't think it's that easy.", the Mutasect taunted. Then 4 figures appeared before them. "First, you must face the embodiments of your future. Behold, the Emperor, the Wheel of Fortune, the High Priestess and the Chariot." With that said, Predictra vanished, leaving behind the 4 opponents. All of them resembled Bio-Roids, but with changes to denote who they were. The Emperor had an elaborate headdress and robe, the Wheel of Fortune was a set of circular saws on his arms, the High Priestess was in a ceremonial dress and the Chariot had a pair of blades and a guard for his waist area.

"If we have to fight these guys, then we will.", Mark said to the others, who raised their fists in agreement. "Ok. Ready? Go!"

The 4 charges at their opponents, only to quickly fall into a stalemate. Mark's sword slash was stopped by an identical manoeuvre by the Emperor, Wayne's Jumping Punch was matched by the Wheel of Fortune, Steven's strength couldn't move the High Priestess and vice versa and Lulu's acrobatics movements were matched by the Chariot. Things looked bad for our heroes, with little possibility of respite.

* * *

"She told you what?", Carrie heard her father yell out. "Why did you believe her?"

"She knew quite a lot about me already, stuff you don't normally tell people.", was all Carrie offered. "Do you think a regular con artist would know I was an Aquarius?"

"That's easy for someone to guess.", Daniel pointed out. "I thought I taught you better than to trust the word of a woman you'd just met a few minutes ago. How do you even know her fortune was accurate?"

"I'm not a little girl anymore, dad.", Carrie yelled out in exasperation. "Besides, it was the one card of the twenty I pulled out, so that must count for something."

"Twenty-one.", Commander Gordon said, entering the room. "There are twenty-one cards in a tarot deck."

"What?", Carrie cried out. "Why would she keep one card out of twenty-one out of her deck?" She stopped to think, considering this new evidence alongside her own experience. "Unless she was a real psychic and she knew that card would apply to me. She wanted me to feel like I did."

"It's a lot more complicated than that.", the Commander told her. "The fortune teller was from the Dominion. She was trying to manipulate you into going down a path she wanted you to go down. One where you WOULD end up dead as you saw."

Mr. Brown was confused by this. "The Dominion? As in the aliens trying to conquer this planet and kill us all? Why would they be after my daughter?"

Gordon and Carrie ignored him. "She's already captured the other 4 members of your team somewhere we can't get to you. You're the only one left that can free them."

"Then what am I standing around for? I need to do something." Carrie stepped forward and pressed her bracelet. "Let's Fly!" In a flash, a wireframe formed around her, generating her suit. "Don't worry, guys. I'm coming to save you." She ran out of the room, leaving behind Gordon with a very confused Daniel Brown.

"What just happened?", Mr. Brown asked. Gordon sighed, realising she would have to go through a lengthy procedure to make sure he kept quiet.

* * *

Eventually, Carrie pulled over to Lady Esmeraulde's tent on Wayne's Jet Cycle. She saw that the tent had been locked up and bore a closed sign. "I guess the business around here must really be getting bad lately.", she commented.

As if on cue, Lady Esmeraulde appeared. "Ah, what an unusual customer.", the woman said in an innocent tone.

"You can drop the act.", Carrie said angrily. "I know you know I'm the woman you saw earlier today and that I've learned you're a Mutasect trying to take our team out."

Lady Esmeraulde promptly began laughing. "I see that little gets past you, White Ranger." Predictra soon transformed back into her true monster form and pulled out the Hierophant card. "You must have realised there was a card missing from my deck. Specifically, the card that really applies to you. Here, you can keep it." She threw it at Carrie's feet, laughing evilly.

"I don't want it.", Carrie said simply. "What I want is my friends back."

Predictra indicated the smaller crystal ball on her left shoulder. "They're currently inside my crystal. If you want them back, you're going to have to break them out. Literally."

Carrie pulled out her Beak Blaster. "Bring it on, Bowl-face."

* * *

Within the crystal, the 4 Rangers were still fighting a losing battle against their opponents. "It's no good.", Steven called out as he locked punches with the High Priestess. "Every move we make, they somehow know how to counter it."

It was then that Wayne had a realisation. "Didn't that crystal thing say these were the embodiments of our futures? As in, versions of ourselves that have already been through these motions."

"Just great.", Lulu moaned. "How do we beat versions of ourselves that already know what we're going to do?"

That's simple.", Mark said, dropping his Wing Saber. "We don't. We simply surrender and accept our fate." The others realised the value of his words and dropped their weapons. The 4 adversaries immediately stopped attacking and each looked at their opponents face to face.

"The one you seek will be found, yet shall remain lost to you.", the Emperor told Mark.

"If you find the right impetus, your work will eventually be acknowledged.", the Wheel of Fortune told Wayne.

"Things are not always as they seem.", the High Priestess told Steven.

Finally, the Chariot told his prediction to Lulu. "If you keep going, you can achieve what you want."

With these word of wisdom imparted, the tarot warriors then sent their opponents back home.

* * *

Back on Earth, Carrie's fight with Predictra had taken the two to the docks. "This is getting tiresome, White Ranger.", Predictra gasped. "Bio-Roids!" A group of the Dominion's foot soldiers appeared from Predictra's body. Summoning them required a great deal of power and Predictra had harnessed this power in her time alive.

Before she could order them to attack, the 4 Rangers she had captured burst out of the crystal, knocking the Mutasect back. "Sorry it took us so long, Carrie.", Mark said. "We were busy having a brief look into the future."

"That's putting it lightly.", Lulu added.

"It's ok, guys.", Carrie assured them. "I've been complaining about the service she gave me."

Predictra got up. "I don't know how you escaped my dimension, but it doesn't matter. We're still going to finish you off."

"Oh yeah?", Carrie asked. "If that's what you want, we'll show you not to mess with the Flying Rangers." The 5 did a pose before engaging in battle.

While Mark and the others took care of the Bio-Roids, Carrie engaged in battle once more with Predictra. She tried hitting the Mutasect with her Sky Enforcer, only for Predictra to teleport out of her way every time. Then the Mutasect transformed into two tarot cards, the Hangman and Death, which tried to collide with the White Ranger only to barely graze her. "That's it. I've had enough." Carrie deployed her wings and jumped at Predictra with her Enforcer deployed. "White Swan Crash!"

The blow hit Predictra, knocking her down. "Why didn't I foresee this?", she asked.

With the others having taken out the Bio-Roids, Mark spoke into his communicator. "We need the Rover Launcher." As if on cue, the dune buggy came rushing in by itself.

**Cannon Mode! Red Black Yellow White Blue Charge! All Charge, Combine! Full Power!**

"I see your existence is about to get very hot.", Mark commented as he pressed the fire button.

**Maximum Firebird Bombardment!**

The blast hit Predictra right on her Mutasect, killing it and preventing her body from being reconstituted as a giant. "That's for trying to get rid of me.", Carrie said.

* * *

Some time later, the team was back at the Nest, where Commander Gordon informed them of Carrie's father having discovered the existence of their operation. "Oh no.", Carrie thought. "I hope this doesn't mean I'm going to have to leave the program."

"Oh no, nothing of the sort.", Gordon said in response. "He said he was proud of the work you and the others were doing. In fact, he offered to put more money into our project."

"Well that's a relief.", Wayne commented. "I'd hate to have to search for a new White Ranger and train them to use the gear."

"I agree.", Mark added. "But we need to get our current White to maybe be a little more open with her problems."

"Like you've got room to talk, Mr. This-Girl-Looks-Like-My-Missing-Girlfriend.", Lulu giggled, nudging him gently.

Mark coughed. "Ok, let me rephrase that. We ALL need to be open with each other. From now on, there'll be no more secrets between any of us."

From the doorway, Commander Gordon spied on Mark as he said this. "Not all of us can afford to follow your rules, unfortunately.", she said in a quiet whisper.

* * *

Decided to do something different here by adding a notes section, though its totslly different from the one on this fic's Ao3 page.

I didn't intend for Carrie's dad to be a recurring character, but i decided that he was too good a character to only use once. Plus he makes a good ally to the team with his wealth.

Wayne's look was inspired by Yohei Onishi. Don't know who that is? Look him up.

And finally, the reason I'm doing this notes section, Im opening up this fic for a crossover with anyone else's OC Ranger team. I wont be able to write it, but i can consult whoever (if anyone) decides to take up my offer of a collaboration. I think it's arounf the time for a crossover, but i don't have one penned in my original plan. Which is why I'm offering whoever wants to work with me a chance to write one.


	11. A Bear-Raising Experience

**_Five years ago._**

_A phone call in the middle of the night is not something that connotes good news. Especially for Mark Goodman, currently a first year student at Winter Valley University. He had been living on his own since the start of his first semester, as his mom thought it would help him focus on his studies without distraction. So far, the idea had been a good one as far as Mark was concerned. Not only had his grades been consistently good, but he had managed to acquire a girlfriend, who he planned to introduce to his family the next time he went home. At least, that was the plan. All that changed when he picked up the phone. "Hello? Do you know what time this is?"  
_

_"Mr. Goodman," the voice on the other end responded "I'm sorry to have to inform you of this, but we need you to come to the police station tomorrow morning."  
_

_Mark's eyes immediately widened. "What happened?" He knew that when the police called you in the dead of night to say 'I'm sorry', it was never a good sign.  
_

_"There was an accident earlier today over in Opal City. Your mother, Carla Goodman was caught up in the area of the incident and was fatally injured."  
_

_Mark wasn't happy to hear this. "What happened to my sister Lulu? Is she okay?"  
_

_"Don't worry, she's ok.", the voice assured him. "But she's in severe shock. She's refusing to speak to anyone until you come over. Not to mention she's very much being protective of her teddy bear."_

* * *

**Now**.

Lulu was woken up by a knock on her bedroom door. It was Mark. "Lulu, it's trash day today. I need you to take the bag to the curb."

"Do I have to?", Lulu yawned. "It's a school day."

"Remember, we agreed to have a rotating timetable when it comes to chores.", came the reply. "And it's your turn to take the trash out to the dump."

Lulu sighed. "Well, I suppose I probably have some time before I'm needed in class." She looked over at her alarm clock, which indicated that it was 6:40. "Good. I've got over an hour." So with some effort, she pulled herself out of bed, only pausing to notice that her teddy bear Mr. Fuzzy was missing.

* * *

Aboard the Dominion's ship, Halatia was still fuming over her previous defeat. "How did Predictra lose? She was almost able to defeat all 5 of those pesky Rangers."

"Perhaps it would be more worthwhile to focus on what she did well.", Galvahex suggested to her. "Instead of the areas where she failed."

The Princess was intrigued by this. "Go on. I'm listening."

"While Predictra may have failed to eliminate the Rangers physically, she did manage to temporarily place the fear of death in one of them. This led to Caroline Brown suffering emotional damage which if untreated, would have made her unable to fight anymore."

"So you're suggesting that I find something precious to one of them and destroy it?", Halatia realised. "Then I just have to find that something." One scan of the city later, she saw Lulu walking to the city dump with the trash bag. "Well, well. It looks like the Blue Ranger has provided us with the perfect solution to your idea." She summoned a group of Bio-Roids and teleported out.

Now Galvahex was left alone. "She's becoming much bolder than we anticipated. This isn't good."

* * *

Back on terra firma, Lulu was still dragging the heavy bag to the dump. Getting curious about a familiar bell ringing inside the bag, she decided to stop and check. Sure enough, she found her missing teddy bear, Mr. Fuzzy. She wasn't happy to find it in the trash bag, especially since it held such deep-seated memories of her late mother. She figured that Mark must have thrown it out, because it was definitely falling apart and generating a foul odour. "I thought we were past these sorts of disagreements.", she said, thinking back to when she first had to move in with him.

* * *

_It had been less than a week since the accident which had left Mark and Lulu as full orphans. And though Mark had been given custody in accordance with his mother's wishes, he wasn't going to actually inherit any money until he was 21, which was 2 years away. Until then, the two were stuck making the best of it in student accommodations. It wasn't going well.  
_

_"I'm hungry.", Lulu complained for the fifth time that day._

_"Well you're going to have to wait longer.", Mark snapped back. "I'm busy."  
_

_"You're always busy."_

_"That's a given. I have to be busy, or I'm going to fail this degree.", Mark explained.  
_

_Lulu pouted. "Okay then, just do your dumb boring work. You obviously think I'm an annoyance."  
_

_Mark immediately calmed down and tried to put his hands on her shoulders. "I'd never think that of you. It's just that I'm not really prepared to handle being a legal guardian. Most people are a lot older when they have kids."  
_

_"That other guy didn't seem to want me here though.", the little girl said with some shame.  
_

_"Only because he didn't want to be forced out of his room. But we couldn't do anything else. Kids aren't even supposed to be living on campus. But since Grandma lives 6 states away, I'm stuck with you."_

* * *

The flashback ended, as Lulu looked back up. She supposed she could always sneak the bear back out when she got to the dump. When she fully uprighted herself, she saw a woman dressed entirely in black. "I've been expecting this.", Lulu said, remembering what her friends had told her about their own encounters with this woman.

"Have you indeed?", the woman asked her. "How did you come to expect my presence?"

"My friends already got subjected to your 'interviews'.", Lulu said in response. "We don't know who you are or what you're hoping to gain, but whatever it is, we're going to stop you."

The woman chuckled at this. "Will you indeed? We'll have to see." With that, she stepped backwards and faded away.

Lulu came to a decision. "I need to tell the others about this, before something else crazy happens."

As if on cue, Halatia and her Bio-Roids teleported in, the former holding a Mutasect in hand. "I'd hate to interrupt your tasks this early, Blue Ranger.", the Princess said in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, nothings been disturbed.", Lulu said, covertly pressing the alert button on her communicator. "I was already on my way to give you a knuckle sandwich." She immediately dropped the bag and began fighting the rank and file grunts hand to hand.

"Too easy.", the Princess gloated to herself as she placed the Mutasect inside the bag, taking the time to gag herself first. She then turned around and drew her sceptre. "While I'm here, I may as well get rid of one of the Flying Rangers."

Halatia ran into the battle and thrust her weapon at Lulu, who quickly dodged and morphed in one motion. The Blue Ranger then deployed her Sky Enforcer and began using its burst mode to take out Bio-Roids. After she had evened the playing field slightly, she switched her Enforcer back into its base mode and engaged in fisticuffs with Halatia, who merely swatted her down.

"Well Blue Ranger, this has been fun, but I'm going to have to put you down now."

However, before she could land the hit, her arm was blocked by something. When she turned around to see what it was, she was met by the sight of a giant teddy bear, falling apart and covered by miscellaneous pieces of trash. "No, I won't let you hurt mommy.", the bear cried out.

"'Mommy'?", Lulu and Halatia both repeated with confusion. Though it took Lulu slightly less time to figure out what he meant by this. "Mr. Fuzzy? Is that you?"

* * *

_Lulu thought back to that night spent in the police waiting room. Mr. Fuzzy was the one remnant of her mom that she had been allowed with her in that room. As such, she had held onto it all night, refusing to let it go any further away than her chest. She spent the whole night crying into the bear, only stopping when a policeman came in to say something to her that would affect the rest of her childhood.  
_

_"Miss Goodman. Your brother's come here to pick you up."  
_

_The mention of the word "brother" convinced the little girl to look up for the first time in hours. Sure enough, here he was, standing in the doorway, wearing a leather jacket and a red t-shirt with jeans. "Hey there, kiddo.", Mark said. "How're you holding up?"  
_

_Lulu, still teary-eyed, stood up and ran over to him. "Big bro.", she blubbered. "Mommy's gone and she's not going to come back. All I have left is Mr. Fuzzy."  
_

_"That's not true, Lulu.", Mark reassured her. "You still have me. And I promise you that I will never let anyone hurt you like this again."_

* * *

"Of course it's me, Mommy.", the bear-monster responded to his former owner's question. "Don't you remember all the times we spent together? Like that time you built a fort out of the sofa cushions. The bad man didn't like that at all."

Lulu was confused by Mr. Fuzzy's mention of 'the bad man', until she heard a familiar voice call out "Lulu!" The Blue Ranger, Halatia and Mr. Fuzzy all turned around to see Mark, already morphed and pulling up in the Rover Launcher.

Mr. Fuzzy immediately hid behind Lulu. "It's him. The bad man. The one that tried to take me away from you, Mommy."

Halatia saw this and was disgusted. "He's just a coward.", she said before teleporting out.

Mark also saw this and took the wrong idea. "Get away from her, you monster.", he yelled as he shot at Mr. Fuzzy's paws with his Beak Blaster, knocking the monster back. "Lulu, help me finish this thing off." He then converted the Rover Launcher to Cannon Mode and dragged Lulu over to help him charge it.

**Red Charge! Blue Charge!  
**

"Mark, Don't-" Lulu tried to plead, but Mark ignored her, firing his weapon at the Mutasect.

**Double Firebird Strike!**

But instead of being destroyed, Mr. Fuzzy simply absorbed the energy and giggled. "Tee hee, that tickles."

Mark was about to try again, but this time, Lulu stopped him. "You're making a mistake. He's friendly."

Mark seemed slightly dubious about this. "He must have hit you pretty hard before I got here."

"No, you've got it all wrong.", Mr. Fuzzy insisted as he waved his arms. "I'd never hurt my Mommy."

"'Mommy'?", Mark asked confused.

"Yeah, it's a long story.", Lulu said sheepishly. She then demorphed and looked at her watch. "But it'll have to wait. I am going to be super late for school." She then turned back towards her old teddy bear. "Mr. Fuzzy, do what my brother tells you until I come home." She promptly began running in the other direction.

Mark now looked incredulously at the Mutasect. "So you're Mr. Fuzzy, as in Lulu's old stuffed bear Mr. Fuzzy? Boy does that take me back."

* * *

_Mark thought back to a night from his college days. He had that day off and had spent it looking for a school to take in his sister. It was better than having her run around all day, messing up his workplace and his work. However, he'd had no luck in finding a place that was cheap enough for him to continue paying both his own tuition fees and her fees on the side. So instead, he had decided to find some new food for dinner. "Lulu, I'm back.", he called out, to no reply. "What do you say to trying Chinese food tonight? They had a sale on leftovers from the recent New Years." This too yielded no reply. Now worried, Mark put the bag down on his kitchen counter and began searching the apartment. He quickly found a pile of cushions in the living room, with Lulu's voice emanating from within._

_"Good idea in building this fort, Major Fuzzy. The zombies will never find us in here."_

_Mark immediately pulled off one of the cushions to find his sister and her bear in outfits that looked like they were made from ripped or crumpled paper. "Raargh, your brains are ours.", Mark said sarcastically.  
_

_Lulu smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, bro. These cushions made it impossible to hear you come in. But hey, they were a pretty fun play area for me and Mr. Fuzzy."_

_Mark initially started laughing, until he saw some text on the paper she and her bear were wearing. "Oh no, tell me you didn't -." Unfortunately for him, she did. "Lulu, how could you? This is my dissertation for this semester."_

_"I just used it to give us some costumes. What's the big deal?"  
_

_"The big deal is that you've just messed up at least 65% of my grade for the semester. I have to start this whole thing all over again and I don't have the time to do that." He then moved out of the room, only stopping to turn around and say "The sooner I can get you out of here, the better." He then walked out of the apartment, leaving behind a very sad little girl._

* * *

"You used to be inseparable from my sister.", Mark said to the now-a-Mutasect Mr. Fuzzy. "I hope there's no hard feelings about me throwing you out. I guess I'll see you later."

"Wait a minute, bub.", Mr. Fuzzy called out as Mark tried to drive away. "Mommy told me to do what you say while she's at school. You haven't told me to do anything."

Mark sighed loudly. "Look I don't really have time to babysit a giant teddy bear made of garbage. Just stay within the city limits and stay out of trouble. But be back at the house by 4PM." With that said, he continued driving to the Nest, while Mr. Fuzzy, doing exactly what he was told, started to wander around town.

* * *

Elsewhere, the woman in black was standing on top of a building, eventually being joined by the Messenger that had been sent to warn Algrin of the impending arrival of Queen Uuhcura. "I have now encountered all 5 of the Rangers that are defending this planet from conquest.

"And what have you determined from these encounters?", the Messenger asked.

The woman turned around and smiled. "I've discovered that they're all no more pathetically pitiful than the rest of their fellow man. Mark Goodman is somebody who has no reason to fight other than a desire for heroism, Wayne Burley is a follower obeying any order given to him, Steven Hartford is someone dependent on others in order to function, Caroline Brown is a soldier who would rather die than surrender and Lulu Goodman has the initiative for defiance."

The Messenger tilted his head. "Yet they still manage to defeat everything that Algrin and his crew throw at them. How can we defeat them if they're able to take down our best fighter's plans repeatedly?"

"I already have a solution for that.", was her response. "You are to travel to the planet Inoue 6. There, you will find Kuroden and Aobrix. Order them to this planet."

The Messenger was flabbergasted. "Kuroden and Aobrix? But they're only supposed to be brought in for a class 1 emergency."

"I decide what a class 1 emergency is, you cretin.", the woman yelled before slapping him. "Now go to the planet and deal with them, or else."

The Messenger began quivering, before straightening himself. "By your command.", he said before teleporting out. The woman smiled and walked back to the edge of the building.

"Enjoy your victories for now, Flying Rangers. For soon enough, your luck will run out and your world will fall, as so many others have done before." She then began bursting into maniacal laughter.

* * *

"Wait, let me get this straight.", Wayne said to Mark. The latter had called for an emergency meeting at the Nest, with everyone in attendance except Lulu. "The Dominion's Princess created a new Mutasect monster from Lulu's old teddy bear?"

"And now that bear monster is on our side of the conflict?", Carrie added. "I guess strange events do happen on simple Tuesdays."

"I know it sounds crazy, but it's what happened.", Mark assured them. "Not only that, but the bear somehow has 'memories' from being a regular stuffed animal. I don't know how that's possible and I'd be grateful for a possible explanation."

It was Commander Gordon who answered the question. "Perhaps the bear contained some psycho-somatic resonance with its owner, in this case Lulu. This resonance allowed the Mutasect to absorb the toy's experiences and treat them as actual memories."

Mark simply shrugged. "Why not? It certainly sounds about as plausible as some of the other stuff we've faced."

"Where's the bear now?", Steven was the first to ask.

"I don't know.", Mark exclaimed. "I just told him to be back at my house by 5. What he gets up to in the meantime is entirely up to him."

"You let a Mutasect loose in the city?", Gordon yelled out. "You idiot."

Wayne was confused. "Wait, isn't this thing harmless? Surely he won't actually harm anyone."

"We know that, but the public at large don't.", the Commander clarified. "We need to find that bear and keep him somewhere safe before something bad happens to him."

Mark sighed. "Why is it that whenever I take someone in, I always have to keep them from harm?", he asked himself, once more thinking back to his early life with Lulu.

* * *

"_I don't know who else I can say this to, Mary.", Mark was now talking to his girlfriend. It was the same night that Lulu had accidentally ruined her brother's dissertation. "Most of the others in our year are just laughing at me for being a babysitter. And my old roommate is still annoyed that I had him pushed out in favour of my sister."  
_

_"I'm not going to laugh or get mad at you.", Mary assured him. "You've just had a lot on your plate since your mom passed. Most people can't say they've been in your shoes, nor would they envy that position."  
_

_"I know. Even so, it's just really frustrating having to deal with her constantly. I can't take her anywhere, I can't send her anywhere and leaving her in my rooms just let's her mess up my stuff."  
_

_Mary stopped the two of them where they were standing. "Have you considered that the reason she's doing that is because she just wants you to notice her. She's not a grown woman. She's just a little girl who desperately wants her only family to help her cope with the loss of her parent. And how's he reacting? By yelling at her and whining to his girlfriend about his problems."  
_

_Mark suddenly had a realisation. "Baby, you're right. I've been so caught up in trying to get her to grow up that I forgot she was just a child. I've got to make things right." He quickly kissed her and ran back to his apartment. But when he got there, he found a note pinned to the door.  
_

_Big bro, I know you didn't want me in your life. Since I got here, I've made your life and your studies nothing but misfortune. Like you said, 'the sooner I'm can get out of here, the better'. As such, I've decided to save you the trouble and get out of your life. You probably won't see me again, so I guess this is goodbye. Lulu.  
_

_"Oh no.", Mark said with a look of horror on his face. "What've I done?" He then set off running into town, determined to find his sister._

* * *

In that same town 5 years later, Mr. Fuzzy was now walking through a crowd, many of whom were running away terrified. "Don't mind me, folks.", he called out. "Just a bear mutated by a space bug walking through your city centre." He saw a little boy crying over a broken toy spaceship. "There there, honey. I'll make it all as good as new." Sure enough, one touch from the Mutasect restored the broken toy to factory conditions. But before he could give it back, the boy's mother grabbed him and pulled him away. He then saw a man trying to drive away in a broken down old car, which was long past ready for the scrap heap. "Here let me help you." One more touch from the bear restored the car to fresh-off-the-conveyor condition. The driver wasted no time in speeding off in his now pristine vehicle. "Happy to be of help."

"There it is, men.", one of the mob called out. "Let's get rid of it." He then led his fellows in throwing rocks at Mr. Fuzzy, who recoiled in pain and made a run for it, heading towards the docks.

* * *

On the ship, Halatia walked in to see Fwelf laughing at something on the viewfinder. "Did I miss a punchline?", she asked indignantly.

"It's this pathetic creature.", Fwelf replied, pointing at the viewfinder while still laughing. "He honestly thought that those humans would want him as their friend. How naive." Halatia turned around, seeing the Mutasect she had created earlier being chased from town by a mob.

"Perhaps I can salvage this situation after all.", the Princess said to no one in particular.

* * *

Mr. Fuzzy had escaped from his pursuers and made his way to the docks. He remembered that this was a safe place. After all, it was where Mommy had gone back when she was running from her problems.

* * *

"_I feel awful.", Lulu told her stuffed bear. "Mark may not be the best person to look after me, but he was trying his best. I should've told him in person instead of running off." But then she remembered the words her brother had said to her before he left. 'The sooner you can get out of here, the better.' "Who am I kidding? He didn't want me. I'm just a nuisance to him."_

_Then, Lulu noticed a strange man in a trench coat and fedora pulling out a strange device, into which he began spouting apparent gibberish. "Mukaada yondre Dolan webraba. Earth dokenda wutendo slirnoq abrirdes. Humanity spoda mltezen cwultorex._ (Roughly translated: Technical Officer Dolan reporting in. Earth will be suitable for our war with the the dark one. Humanity will make an admirable slave race.)

_Lulu couldn't help but laugh at the man's language. "You're funny.", she blurted out.  
_

_Unfortunately, the figure heard her and turned around to face her. "Balduma! Malkreti avtroni sputractro, human." _(Intruder! You'll regret listening in on me, human.) _He manifested a sword out of thin air and begun swinging it towards the little girl.  
_

_Lulu was now scared of this terrifying figure all of a sudden._

* * *

And now, 5 years later, Mr. Fuzzy found himself in a funk of his own. "Why won't they accept me?", he cried out and slammed his fists into the ground. "Mommy and the bad man accepted me?"

"Maybe because you're nothing but an abomination to them." Mr. Fuzzy looked up to see Princess Halatia walking towards him. "I on the other hand, want to help you show them the real you."

"You'd do that?", Mr. Fuzzy asked, getting up off the ground after looking at his hands. "Okay then, do it. Please, I just want to show people what a stuffed bear can do to them."

The Princess smiled. "Very well then." She then blasted Mr. Fuzzy with with her sceptre. "Chaos Phantom Energy, make my Bearserker into a real force to be reckoned with."

After absorbing the energy, Mr. Fuzzy grew into a giant sized version of himself. But unlike other giant growths the city had seen, this one came with a few differences. The bear's face was now more monstrous, with protruding teeth, two pointed devil-like ears and permanently angry eyes. And when he spoke, it was with a much deeper voice. "You people rejected Mr. Fuzzy? Well, let's see how you like the new and improved Bearserker." He then fired a beam from his arms, which hit the same car that he had earlier restored. Only this time, the car was reduced to the wreck it was when he found it. And if the owner was in there (which is not a guarantee), then his remains wouldn't look pretty.

* * *

Down on the ground, the 4 Rangers that were out looking for Mr. Fuzzy saw the now-a-giant Mutasect attacking the city. "I thought you said he was just a softie?", Carrie said sarcastically.

"Well, I guess he must have been playing us.", Mark replied. "We'll have to try and stop him without Lulu. Let's go." The others nodded and all 4 pressed their change bracelets in unison, crying out "Let's Fly!" After the transformation was complete, Mark pulled out his communicator. "We need the vehicles ready, now."

**Vehicle shift, on! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Take Off! Go, Go!  
**

And thus, the 4 vehicles soon made their way to where Bearserker was rampaging, following the trail of buildings he was reducing to wreckage with his powers. "Let's get this bear back to the zoo.", Mark radioed.

"Bad joke aside, we do need to put this thing down.", Wayne responded. The two then engaged Bearserker. "Hawk Condor Whirlwind Attack!" The Hawk Flier and the Condor Zoom flew in formation and fired their lasers at the monster, knocking him back.

"So even the bad man turns on me as well?", Bearserker growled. "Well let's see how you like being shot at with deadly lasers." He fired back at his two attackers, breaking their formations.

"Man, this little bear's getting his claws.", Carrie commented from the Swan Sonic.

"Well I've got a counterattack that's just right.", Pete responded as the Owl Jet flew by with a boulder in its claw. "Eat gravel, you oversized honey-eater." He then dropped his load onto the Mutasect.

However, Bearserker saw the large boulder incoming and grabbed it. "Oh, so you still think it's a bright idea to throw rocks at me. Well I know the perfect place to put this."

"He's heading for the High School.", Gordon radioed in to inform them.

"Oh no, Lulu.", Mark realised. We need to get over there quickly."

* * *

_Similarly, all those years ago, Lulu was in danger as she would be in the present. But before the figure could bring his sword down on the little girl, Mark jumped in and kicked the attacker away. "Back off, you creep. I'm not going to let you hurt my sister."  
_

_"Big bro!", the little girl cried out in happiness, as she ran towards him and hugged his legs. "So you do want me to stay with you."  
_

_"Of course I do, you're family, and family doesn't let family down.", Mark said in response. "When I mentioned you getting out, I meant to go to school with other kids your age. I never meant I'd kick you out."  
_

_"Oh, Mark.", Lulu said, with tears of happiness.  
_

_It was then that the figure blasted the two siblings with a beam from his hands, sending Mark flying and knocking Lulu out. "Orda makurtni albrda, humans. Wogren altrun mahdi albrundwi makro."_ (I'd hate to interrupt this tender reunion humans. Now another will have to be eliminated.) He then threw off his coat and hat, revealing a red skinned alien, with a slightly bulbous head, no lips, asymmetrical shoulders and a leotard.

_Mark stood himself up angrily. "I don't know what you are, where you come from or what you came here for. But frankly, I don't care. What I do care about is that you tried to hurt my sister. And for that, I'm going to take you down."  
_

_"Good attitude." Mark and Dolan turned around towards the source of the voice. It was a middle-aged woman in a military uniform, holding a bracelet in her hand. Neither recognised her, but Mark would come to know her as Wing Commander June Gordon. She then walked over to the young man and placed the bracelet on his wrist. "Use this to fight him off. Just press the button, say 'Let's Fly!' and you'll morph into a form that can match him." Mark was confused by this woman's presence, but he decided to take the bracelet anyway.  
_

_Dolan also took a good look at the bracelet and reacted with abject horror. "Cameldos? Abru morda ga -."_(A Morpher? Then you must be -.")

_Mark reached over to press the button. "I don't really know what I'm doing," he commented "but if it helps me take this creep down, then I'll take whatever advantage I can get." He then pressed the button and, as instructed, called out "Let's Fly!" With a flash of light, Mark was still, standing there, not changed in the slightest.  
_

_The alien's laughter promptly subsided its fear. "Kroda mlatben cameldos tryeamaku, Ranger."_ ("Looks like your morpher isn't working that well, Ranger.")

_Mark clenched his fist, which caused a glove to form on it. "Well, that's unexpected." As he moved more of his body, more parts of what would eventually be his Flying Ranger costume manifested themselves. "What's happening to me?", he asked the woman who had given him the bracelet.  
_

_"The process seems to have something of a delay to it.", was her answer. "Just keep your focus on fighting off the alien."  
_

_"Okay.", he nodded. He then ran into battle with the alien, as the last pieces of his suit fully formed, completing the look_.

* * *

Back in the present, Lulu and her friends Lila and Sasha were once more discussing recent events while walking out of school. "So what do you make of all these strange things happening recently? Like, the other day I was attacked by my boy band poster.", Lila started.

"Big deal. You had it easy.", Sasha replied. "I got myself turned into a photograph by a giant camera on legs. I don't even know how I got out, just that I ended up at a quarry."

"Well if you ask me," Lulu began "these incidents are a just a massive… bear!"

Lila and Sasha both looked up, seeing the giant Bearserker lugging his huge boulder. "Since you humans seem so keen to throw rocks at me, let's see how you like it when I return the favour." He then dumped the rock down onto the school grounds.

Lulu and her friends immediately moved to the side to get out of the way. However, the Blue Ranger made sure to jump in the opposite direction to them so she could morph unnoticed in all the chaos. After she did so, she assessed the situation. "Looks like Mr. Fuzzy has become another monster destroying Winter Valley. I'll have to try and stop him." She then pulled up her communicator and dialled.

**Vehicle shift, on! Plane! Take off! Go, Go!**

The Swallow Plane soon came flying in, teleporting it's occupant into its cockpit. "I'm sorry, Mr. Fuzzy.", she said, activating the Plane's Bomber Mode. The wings detached from the main body and began hurtling towards Bearserker like a boomerang.

However, Bearserker caught the projectile and was furious. "Even my own mother wants me gone. Well I'm happy to repay in kind." He then threw the boomerang back, only for it to get lodged in a building along the way.

Lulu sighed in disappointment and decided to radio Mark. "Big bro, my bear's kinda gone mad and started hurting people."

"We're already on it.", came his reply. "Since you're here now, we might as well use the Icarus."

**Icarus Megazord! Go, Go!**

With the Megazord formed and the Rangers all in the main cockpit, Lulu whispered to herself a few short words. "Please forgive me."

With the robot formed, it faced down Bearserker. "Let's see how you like being sent to the scrap heap, Mr. Icarus.", the giant bear declared, spraying its adversary with corrosive mist. However, the Icarus's composition rendered it immune to rust or corrosion. "That didn't work? Try this." Bearserker then ran forward and slashed at the Icarus, before head-butting it. Despite the Icarus' attempts to hold him at bay, the Mutasect threw his opponent to the ground and continued attacking.

* * *

Down on the ground, a little girl had wandered into the scene of the fight. "Oh no. She's in danger.", Lulu realised. Bearserker didn't particularly care, pushing rubble down onto the unsuspecting child. Lulu, reminded strongly of her own brush with death when she was that age, decided to do something. "Sorry guys, I've got to help her." Lulu ejected herself from the cockpit and glided down to shield the girl by pushing her out of the way, unintentionally getting herself buried in her place.

"Oh no. Lulu!", Mark called out in shock.

"Is she ok?", Carrie asked.

Bearserker was horrified by what he had done to Lulu. "Oh no, I hurt Mommy. What've I done?"

"Mr. Fuzzy.", Lulu called out. "I don't know what you are now, but you're not my old childhood bear. He was always there for me, to keep me from feeling pain and giving me a shoulder to cry on. You, on the other hand, are just another monster wrecking up the city, blindly following the orders of an evil empire. I don't know what happened to make you like this, but it's hurting me to see you like this. I want you to stop trashing the city and go back to the way you were."

* * *

The speech moved Bearserker to tears, much to the chagrin of Princess Halatia. "He's resisting the Chaos Phantom Energy I imbued him with. This won't help my standing with the rest of my comrades."

* * *

Bearserker's face and voice turned back into those of Mr. Fuzzy, who shrunk back down to human size. "Don't worry, Mommy. I'm coming to save you." He ran over to where her hand was reaching out from underneath the rubble and pulled it off Lulu.

The Blue Ranger then embraced her teddy bear in a hug. "I knew you were still good deep down. No matter how much you change, you're still the same cutie that my mom bought me when I was 6."

As if on cue, Princess Halatia jumped down into the ally to kill the moment. "This reunion is so sweet I'm getting a toothache.", she commented sarcastically. She hen charged towards the two with her sceptre, with intent to kill.

Mr. Fuzzy noticed her coming and pushed Lulu out of the way. "Mommy, look out!", he managed to yell before he was stabbed.

"I thought you'd be the Mutasect to destroy the Rangers, but you've been nothing but a failure since I created you.", the Princess said angrily. "Let what happens to you be a warning to all your brothers and sisters that follow you."

Lulu could only watch as her teddy bear began to stagger. "Mr. Fuzzy. No!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy.", the bear managed to get out before he dissolved into energy, leaving no evidence.

Halatia scoffed at her own actions. "Good riddance. All he was ever good for was causing you emotional pain. And that didn't work out the way I intended it would. What a waste of a perfectly good bug."

This made Lulu, who had now climbed up to her fate, to get mad. "That's it, you witch. Since you first arrived on this planet, you've done nothing but torment us, attack us and try to break our team apart. And now you've killed one of my closest friends. I'm not going to let you walk away from this."

The Princess's angry scowl turned into a smile. "Looks like Mr. Fuzzy actually succeeded at his objective after all. Let's do it, Blue Ranger."

The two drew their respective swords and charged at each other. After some parrying, Lulu managed to knock Halatia back. "Nice move. But let's see how you react to this.", the Princess responded, firing lasers at her opponent.

But Lulu jumped out of the way and fired back with her Beak Blaster. "Big whoop. I can do that too." The blast knocked Halatia's sceptre out of her hands. Then Lulu began jumping around, engaging in acrobatics manoeuvres. "Martial arts aren't the only way for me to fight you, Princess." She eventually used a nearby wall to execute a flying cross chop on the Princess. "Stay down this time."

The other Rangers then arrived. "Sorry we're late.", Wayne called out. "We had to try and move the Icarus back to base with just the 4 of us."

Halatia stood up. "I'll let you have this victory, Flying Rangers. For very soon, my mother will reign down a terrible vengeance upon this world." With that said, she teleported out.

"Anyone know what she was talking about?", Steven thought to ask.

Carrie was the one to answer. "Probably just generic bad guy talk. You know like 'you haven't seen the last of me'."

"Mommy.", a weak voice cried out, much to everyone's shock. When they turned around to face it, they saw….

"Mr. Fuzzy!", Lulu cried out with joy, seeing her fallen teddy bear. "You're okay."

"No I'm not, Mommy.", came Mr. Fuzzy's response. "This bug of mine only has a few clicks left in it. Soon, I'm going to go back to being inanimate."

Lulu powered down and went to comfort him. "Don't say that. There must be something we can do." She turned towards her teammates. "Mark, Wayne, Carrie. Tell me there's something we can do."

"I'm sorry.", Carrie told her with a tone that screamed 'bad news'. "I may be a medical officer, but I can only do work on humans."

"We just don't know enough about Mutasect biology, even if she was.", Wayne added. "Anything we can offer would simply be false hope."

Lulu began crying and banging on a nearby wall. "It's not fair! I was just getting to know what it was like to be a parent."

Mr. Fuzzy put his hand on her shoulder. "Lulu, don't cry. Even if I'm gone, you've shown that you have what it takes to be a truly great parent one day. Just like your brother was to you back in the day."

Mark also put his hand on Lulu's shoulder. "He's right. That speech you gave showed that you've picked up on all my best examples from our time together. Even if you only got to have the experience for less than a day, you'll be a great mother." He then took his hand off her shoulder and turned to Mr. Fuzzy. "What are you going to do with your final moments?"

The bear moved his head to face his 'uncle'. "I was born from scrap, so I intend to return to the scrap."

As he walked away, Mark looked around and recognised the location. It was the same place he was on the night his life changed forever.

* * *

_**Five years ago.**_

_Mark had just defeated the alien that had been menacing Lulu and undone the transformation he had undergone. He then turned to the woman who had given him the bracelet. "Okay, two questions: Who are you and what was that thing?"  
_

_"I am June Gordon, Commander of the Jetman military project.", the woman replied. "And as for your second question, that thing was an alien, a scout for an invasion by a massive invasion force to come."  
_

_Mark nodded at this. "I don't want to believe this, but I don't really have much choice. When's this invasion force due? Because I want to be there to send them packing."  
_

_"That's a good attitude.", Gordon nodded. "But we have no idea when the aliens are due to arrive. You're the second applicant we've had for the programme, but the other one is refusing to fully join up until she sees some more concrete evidence. Do you want anything in return for your service?"  
_

_Mark thought for a moment, then looked down at the unconscious figure of Lulu. "I'm not going to ask for much from you. I just need some more money, so I can help put my sister here through school. Can you provide that?"  
_

_"Very easily.", Commander Gordon answered, reaching her hand out for a shake. "Welcome aboard, Mark Goodman."  
_

_Mark returned the handshake. "Glad to be aboard, Commander Gordon."_

* * *

**Now**.

Mr. Fuzzy managed to hobble his way to the dump with some effort. On his way, he found the little boy who he had repaired a broken toy spaceship for earlier. He then presented it to the boy before continuing on his journey. After he made it, he managed to get one last look at the setting sun. Then his body fell apart and Mr. Fuzzy knew no more, as he was once again nothing but a stuffed animal. Abandoned, but not forgotten. Never forgotten.


	12. Queen Uuhcura

Algrin was sleeping. It wasn't something he normally did (unless he was drained from his Berserker Mode transformation), but with the Queen's arrival imminent, he needed all the rest he could get for her no doubt more rigorous plans. While he slept, he was haunted by flashbacks of his planet's destruction at Uuhcura's hands. He saw the buildings crumble, the mountains disintegrate, the plants withering and dying and the people screaming in terror as their world fell apart. Algrin was one of the few survivors, forced to watch as his planet was broken apart to extract all of its resources. Uuhcura had told him it was because his people didn't know their place, that they were being punished for their refusal to comply. She told him that if he kept his head down and obeyed her orders, then he'd be allowed to live and progress through her ranks. After all, with no home of his own, he had nothing else to live for. The shock of all these memories caused the mad Viscount to wake up suddenly.

Galvahex was standing over him. "My Lord Algrin. Are you alright? My sensors are registering heightened adrenaline levels within your body."

"I'm fine, you metallic moron.", Algrin insisted. "It was merely a bad dream. Now then, why have you entered my quarters unannounced?"

"Sir, I have received a signal emanating from a set of co-ordinates on Earth. It does not appear to originate from the Flying Rangers' camp."

Algrin was intrigued. "A signal like that can only contain a message aimed at someone. Can you decipher one?"

Galvahex nodded. "I already have, sir. The message reads 'Come to witness the first day of this planet's future.' Should I mobilise myself or Halatia to investigate?"

Algrin thought it over for a moment, then responded. "No. I think I will lead this mission myself. All 3 of you are to accompany me."

"Sir?"

"Queen Uuhcura is due to arrive any day now.", was Algrin's given reason. "If she sees I have allowed a subordinate to take on an mission of unknown significance, then I will appear weak. I will also bring along all of you to extend the same image of competence I wish to give to the Queen. Prepare to move out."

* * *

Down on Earth, the Nest had also picked up the signal. "Is there anything you can do to decode it?", Commander Gordon asked.

"Nothing, ma'am.", Caldwell said in response. "This code, the frequency is familiar, but the exact cipher is alien to us. But I think we can guess either who sent it, or who was meant to receive it."

"The Dominion.", Gordon said sternly. "Can you detect the source?"

"Oh easily. Like I said, we can identify the frequency. Which means that we can track it back to its source."

The Commander nodded. "Good. Alert the Rangers and have them head to that location at once."

* * *

And thus, Caldwell sent out a signal for each of the 5 Rangers to drop their current activities and head to the given co-ordinates. When they received the respective calls, Mark was working in his garden, Lulu was doing a pole vault, Steven was drying himself after a shower and Wayne and Carrie were both at the same cafe. All responded in the affirmative towards the call and immediately made their way to the provided location on the nearest vehicles.

* * *

Soon, all 5 Rangers showed up to a warehouse in their vehicles except Steven, who had glided over there. (Carrie had carpooled, or rather bike-pooled, with Wayne.) "Alright guys, let's fan out and try to see where the trouble is coming from.", Mark called out.

"There's no need to search for trouble, human." Everyone turned towards the middle of the site, into which Algrin teleported, flanked by Fwelf, Galvahex and Halatia. "Especially when the trouble comes looking for you."

"I guess even these guys know this signal is important.", Lulu commented. "Should we Ranger up?"

"I thought that was obvious.", Mark replied. He and the others then reached for their change bracelets. "Let's Fly!" Wireframes were deposited onto the 5 of them, which soon formed into their Ranger suits.

Algrin growled. "Leave none of them alive.", he said quietly.

And thus a battle commenced, with each of the 4 commanders fighting their loose equivalent in the Rangers. Fwelf went up against Steven, using his gauntlet's teleportation abilities to evade hits from the Yellow Ranger's Sky Enforcer. "It's like trying to punch wind.", the man eventually complained.

"Except that this wind can punch back.", Fwelf replied, zapping Steven with energy from his other gauntlet.

Wayne had been pitted up against Galvahex, as seemed to be the norm by now. "Alright, time to see if the manoeuvre I was practising with Carrie works in practice." He then jumped up and initiated a diving kick. Galvahex, as he had expected, blocked the kick and sent him flying backwards. "All seems to be going well so far.", he said to no one in particular.

However, instead of trying to defend, Galvahex deployed his shoulder pad, which turned into a handheld Gatling gun. "I calculated that you might try to copy fighting styles from your friends, Wayne Burley. So I designed improvements to my body, including predictive sensors and counters." He then fired his new weapon at his opponent, breaking his concentration and knocking him to the ground. "As you humans would say, that's a new one."

Princess Halatia, due to a lack of numbers, was facing both White and Blue. "I don't care if there are a thousand of you, I will still emerge triumphant."

Lulu wasn't impressed. "What a surprise. How many times has she given the 'I will be victorious' speech again?" She then slashed at the Princess with her Wing Saber.

"Not very smart, is she?", Carrie commented as she prepared her Beak Blaster. "If she was, she'd use that human face to do some real infiltrate-and-destroy manoeuvres." She then fired at the Princess, knocking her back.

Finally, Mark had found himself crossing swords with Algrin. "I should have known you guys were behind the signal. It was way too obvious to be anyone else.", Mark said as he almost knocked his opponent's sword out of his hand.

But Algrin was quick to regain a hold of his weapon and counterattack. "Don't be stupid, human. I'm as in the dark as to who sent the message as you are."

Mark stopped fighting for a second, as he had a realisation. "That signal is a message? But from who?"

"From me." Everyone stopped fighting and turned towards the source of the voice. It was the same woman in black that all 5 Rangers had had their respective run-ins with beforehand. She was smiling. "I wants to bring you all here and it looks like I succeeded."

All of the Rangers simultaneously recognised the woman. "You're that weird woman that interrogated me on the bus.", Carrie exclaimed.

"And me at the Library.", Wayne added.

"And me on the way to the Dump.", Lulu concluded.

Steven was the one who asked the question on everyone's lips. "But who is she?"

"That is something we would desire to know as well", Galvahex said on behalf of the Dominion commanders.

The woman seemed disappointed at this. "Don't you recognise me?" She then summoned an elaborate staff seemingly out of thin air. "Then allow me to introduce myself." The staff generated a wave of energy that surrounded the woman in a glowing blue cocoon. When it cleared, the woman was dressed in an entirely different outfit. The black shirt, trousers and trench coat were gone, replaced by an elaborate white dress with sewn on gloves, with a curved bone on her left arm and an egg on her left shoulder. Instead of the sunglasses and hat, she now had a more ornate white hat that covered up her hair. Now Algrin and his comrades were overcome with shock and fear at the same time.

"Queen Uuhcura!", Algrin, Fwelf and Galvahex all called out in shock. Well, the first two were shocked. Galvahex was more of a robotic monotone.

"Mother!", Princess Halatia also cried out.

"Queen?", Wayne and Carrie said in confusion.

"Mother?", Steven and Lulu also said with confusion.

"That makes some sense.", Mark said, his reaction barely changed. "Algrin mentioned he was serving a Queen back when he first appeared on Earth. Who else would've tried to gather intel about us, but the REAL leader of the Dominion?"

Uuhcura smiled at this. "So it seems that you have more intelligence than most give you credit for. No wonder you defeated our advance scout all those years ago.", everyone but Algrin and Galvahex seemed confused at this. She then turned to Lulu. "Oh, didn't he tell you? That man who attacked you for listening in on his radio message all those years ago. That was Dolan, my advanced scout and Fwelf here's predecessor as technical officer." The dwarfish humanoid bowed his head at being mentioned. "But your brother saved your life and destroyed one of my servants in the middle of his report."

"Mark.", was all the Blue Ranger could say, with some shock in her voice.

"We don't care about the backstory.", Wayne called out. "All we care about is what happens next. Mainly, us taking you down."

The Queen laughed at this. "Confident, aren't you? Well let me show you a taste of true power." She then fired a beam of energy from her staff, which blew Black, Yellow, White and Blue away from the site and into the distance

Mark drew his Wing Saber and moved to slash at her. "Try this on for size."

But Uuhcura turned around and blocked him, before throwing him into some barrels. She then turned towards her 4 commanders. "Now then, shall we return to our ship and discuss our plans?", she said in a sweet sounding tone. She then turned and teleported away, followed soon after by 4 very nervous Dominion commanders.

* * *

Deep in space, on a long dead planet, a short and squat alien ran through the woods, single-mindedly going for his objective.

* * *

Back on Earth, Commander Gordon was worried about the Rangers. "Can you raise any of their communicators?", she asked Caldwell, who was typing away on a keyboard.

"Nothing yet, ma'am.", came the reply. "That Queen seems to have scrambled their frequencies in addition to their locations." Then a signal came up. "Wait, I've got one signal."

"That's all we need.", the Commander said in response. "Get them to locate the others and bring them back."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Queen Uuhcura had set up a throne in the centre of the hallway. Algrin, Fwelf and Galvahex all approached her, with the Viscount kneeling down at her feet. She extended her hand to him, and he kissed it in return.

Only the Princess Halatia was unhappy with this turn of events. "Why have you come here, Mother? We were perfectly handling the situation ourselves."

"Curb your insolence.", Algrin called out. "You may be a Princess, but this is the Queen, the one who led us out of our dark times and into battle with the Dark Specter who threatens to rule over us with oppression."

"Well said, Algrin.", Uuhcura replied. "This planet is also a target of the Dark Specter's interest. Our allies wish to claim it so that he cannot and so that we can use the resources of the planet to launch a new campaign against him." She then indicated the egg on her shoulder. "To facilitate our takeover, I have decided that my child, when he is born, shall be the one to ravage this world. When that is achieved, the humans will have neither the will nor the weapons to resist us."

"But first, we need to eliminate the small problem of the Flying Rangers.", Algrin pointed out. "Which I shall see to personally."

The Queen raised her eyebrow at this. "Oh? What will you do differently to the last few attempts?"

Algrin responded by smiling. "Because I'll be using my Berserker Mode.", he declared, much to the shock of everyone.

* * *

Down on Earth, Mark woke up to hear his communicator buzzing. He noticed that he had been knocked out his Ranger suit, but didn't think too much about it. "This is Private Goodman, can anyone hear me?"

"We can only just hear you.", came a garbled voice, which Mark recognised as the Commander's assistant Caldwell. "Communications were damaged in the attack from the Queen. The other Rangers were scattered elsewhere."

"What can I do about that?", Mark asked. "I can't fight Uuhcura by myself. She's too powerful."

"There's a tracker in the Rover Launcher. Use it to find the others and bring them back here."

Mark nodded at this. "Wilco. Out." He then hung up and made his way to his vehicle, intending to find his scattered comrades.

* * *

Speaking of the scattered comrades, Wayne had now regained consciousness and was now searching for the others, with little success. "Come in, anyone. Mark, Lulu, Steven. Can you hear me?" He tapped again his communicator, only to still be met with static. "That blast must have scrambled our communicators. This is just great."

"I'll say." Wayne turned around to see Carrie standing behind him. "Thank god we don't seem to have been blown away that far though."

"I'll say.", Wayne said as he ran over to hug her. "Man, who would've thought that creepy woman would turn out to be our enemies' Queen?"

"Not me.", Carrie answered. "Especially since Halatia doesn't seem to know about the concept of infiltration. Well, for now we're safe."

As she said this, a flash of light appeared. When it cleared, Algrin was standing there in his inhumanoid berserker mode. "Prepare to be wiped out, humans.", he shouted in a thunderous voice.

"I just had to say it, didn't I?", Carrie commented. She and Wayne quickly morphed into their Ranger suits. "Do you know this thing?", she asked her partner.

"Mark and I encountered him while you were fighting that overgrown traffic light", came the reply.

"And how did you defeat him then?", Carrie responded with.

"We didn't."

"Terrific.", Carrie commented. "Looks like we'll have to cross our fingers and hope for luck."

But unfortunately, luck wasn't with either of them that day. Berserker!Algrin withstood everything they tried to hit him with, while also knocking both of them down easily with a slash of his sword. As Wayne got back up, Algrin commented "You just don't know when to give up. Well let me give you some advice." He then proceeded to lay a savage beat down onto his opponent, with Wayne unable to so much as defend himself as he was badly beaten down. Even when he was knocked out of his morph, Algrin still persisted, stepping on his arm, picking him up by his lapels and throwing him against a rock.

"Wayne!", Carrie cried out in sheer horror. Then she vindictively turned towards Algrin. "Why?", she said with little emotion. "Why do you want to destroy us? We've done nothing to you."

This question stunned Algrin, causing him to drop his sword. "I have no choice. My loyalty is to my Queen. She destroyed my planet and forced me into her service."

"That's no excuse.", came Carrie's response. "My grandparents had friends and family who had their lives taken from them by the people who live in this country. But they didn't dedicate our whole lives to being whipping boys for the architects of their suffering. They worked hard to stand on their own as equals to them, even joining together with others from this country to hold their leaders accountable for their heinous actions. So if we humans can solve our problems without becoming pathetic while you can't, can you really claim superiority over us?"

Algrin thought about what the White Ranger had said to him. He then teleported out without saying a word, leaving Carrie to tend to the unconscious and badly-hurt Wayne.

* * *

Back with the Messenger on Inoue 6, he found his way to a cave, where Kuroden and Aobrixs' likenesses were carved into rock. "Why am I doing this?", the Messenger asked himself. "Purely so I can get a pair of uncouth ruffians to cause wanton destruction for a mad queen who forces everyone to serve her in a pointless war. I might be better throwing in my luck with Lord Zedd."

"Those word are treason, you vermin." The Messenger turned around to see the two "statues" glowing with coloured energy; one green, one blue. The two statues promptly transformed into living beings, making the Messenger remember that their species hibernated by turning into stone. Sure enough, before him stood Kuroden, a grey alien with a humanoid face, who wielded a sword. To his left was Aobrix, his younger brother who was distinguished by his blue skin, his insectoid mouth, his use of a staff similar to Queen Uuhcura's and a lesser developed brain.

"Can we punish this loser for his insolence, big bro? Can we?", Aobrix asked with his simplistic voice.

Kuroden glared into the smaller alien's eyes. "Go ahead, brother. I've absorbed all the information we need from his simple brain anyway."

The Messenger immediately began grovelling. "No wait, guys. I was just joking around. You know I'd never betray our Aueen for a loser like Zedd."

"That may be true, but you were unfortunate to be sent for us.", Kuroden stated.

"And that's never good news for anyone unfortunate enough to be a messenger for Queen Uuhcura.", Aobrix continued. He then blasted the Messenger with a beam from his finger, dissolving him into nothingness. "Now, what planet are we being given to have fun on?"

"A miserable little backwater known as 'Earth'. I couldn't quite absorb the full nature of the creature's mission, but I saw the vague image of what looked like Power Rangers." Kuroden put one hand to his chin. "This new planet will certainly be interesting."

* * *

Back aboard the Dominion ship, Algrin once more approached his Queen's throne. All three of his fellow Commanders were watching the scene from around a corner. He knelt down and kissed her hand again, only this time more hesitantly. "Chin up, Algrin.", the Queen said in her cheeriest tone possible. "You may not have destroyed those Rangers, but you did manage to cripple one of them. Their total defeat cannot be far behind."

"Yes.", Algrin said in a monotone as he stepped up and walked away. He then turned around and began running back towards Uuhcura, brandishing his sword. "Die, murderer!"

But the Queen simply blocked the hit by moving her staff a fraction to the left. "What is the meaning of this, Viscount Algrin?", she asked, angrily.

"The White Ranger gave me some advice during my battle with her and the Black Ranger. I don't have to serve you, so long as I can dethrone you and seize power for myself." He was then knocked back by her staff, quickly regaining his footing. He then continued to try and kill her, but she rendered herself intangible and avoided all of her hits.

"You are a fool, Algrin.", the Queen said in a deep booming voice. "You thought you were the first to take the powers of defeated Power Rangers into your body to increase your strength. Well let me show you the results of your ignorance." With that, she transformed into her own Berserker Mode. This form had two of the claw that was on her normal form's left arm, only now alive and converting both hands, except the thumbs (allowing her to hold her staff). Her dress had turned into a loincloth, made of white fur. Her now-exposed legs had become large and muscular, with a tail forming between them. Finally, her head had turned into an ugly monstrous face, with fang like protrusions on her cheeks and dark red eyes. "And unlike you, I have full use of my power, with no limitations."

"This was unexpected.", Galvahex commented quietly.

"I'll say.", Fwelf whispered back. "Did you know anything about this, Princess?"

"In fact, I didn't.", Halatia said in response. "I'm as surprised as Algrin over there."

And talking of Algrin, he was still refusing to back down. "No matter what power you possess, I shall still continue to resist you."

"Then you leave me no choice." Uuhcura fired a beam of energy from her eyes, that enveloped the Viscount and sent him spinning through space. "For your pitiful attempts at treason, I sentence you to spend the rest of your miserable existence on Earth. Which my child will see to being a short few day indeed." In a last act of defiance, Algrin tried to summon some Bio-Roids to fight the Queen for him. However, due to his lack of energy, all he produced was one Bio-Roid, which had no weapon and was barely capable of standing up. "Even when faced with life in exile, you still try to defy me. Pathetic." Uuhcura killed the poor Bio-Roid by merely poking it, causing it to poof out of existence. She then returned to her normal humanoid appearance and voice, before addressing the three Commanders. "I just hope you all were paying attention to Algrin's example to know how not to act around me." With that said, she turned and retired to Algrin's, now her's, quarters.

* * *

Down on Earth, Mark was heading towards a blip on his radar in the Rover Launcher. "Hold on, guys. I'm coming."


	13. Escalation

_In our last episode of Power Rangers Wing Force, the Dominion's supreme ruler, Queen Uuhcura arrived on Earth to take charge of the invasion. With her incredible power, she scattered 4 of the 5 Flying Rangers far from the city of Winter Valley, with only Mark left behind to search for them. After finding Wayne and beating him to within an inch of his life, Algrin decided to turn on the Queen and take power for himself. However, in his weakened state, Uuhcura made quick work of him and banished the treacherous Viscount to Earth. Now, our Red Ranger has embarked on the search for his friends, unaware of the imminent arrival of the Queen's personal annihilators, Kuroden and Aobrix._

* * *

Lulu, wake up. Come on, kiddo. I don't want you to croak on my watch." The Blue Ranger woke up to see Steven was standing over her, trying to get her to wake up by nudging her. "Thank god, you're still alive. I was really worried."

Lulu pushed herself up. "At least I won't have to spend as much time looking for the others. Speaking of which, why haven't you contacted them?"

"I've tried.", came the reply. "My communicator isn't working. What about yours?"

Lulu pulled up her communicator and tried using the call feature, only to receive static. "Same here. I guess that Queen must have broken our comms when she blasted us."

"Well at least our change bracelets still work. I already tested that. But don't think about using them to fly home, the wings can only glide on winds."

Lulu sighed, only now registering they were in a quarry. "This also looks like we're not in Winter Valley anymore. How are they gonna find us?"

"With any luck, it'll be a while before they do."

* * *

Elsewhere, Mark pulled up to the source of his first signal. It was Carrie, who was huddled over someone. "Oh no. Don't tell me….", he said as he ran up to check. Unfortunately, it was what he feared; one of his team, specifically Wayne, lying unconscious and badly beaten on the ground. "What happened?", Mark asked in total seriousness.

Carrie was still sobbing, but she managed to compose herself enough to answer the question. "It was Algrin. He came at us from nowhere and beat Wayne down like this. I managed to get him to back off, but it was too late. We shouldn't have fought him. We should've just run for cover."

"That wouldn't have stopped him.", Mark pointed out. "He'd still have pursued you if you'd run away. Even if it cost you your life, you held your ground. But unfortunately, it left one of us in no condition to do anything. You need to get him back to base as soon as possible."

Carrie was confused. "Are you sure? I'm the only nurse on base, so looking after him would cost the team two field members."

"Then that's a scenario I'm willing to live with. Personal care for allies overrides need for reinforcements at all times in these situations."

Carrie nodded. "Okay then. I'll take us back to get Wayne care. But you'd better be careful out there." She reached for her communicator and clicked the summon function.

**Vehicle Shift, On! Sonic! Take Off! Go, Go!**

As the Swan Sonic zoomed in overhead, Carrie turned back to Mark to tell him "I'll make sure that the Icarus is assembled in case you need it. Good luck." With that, she and the unconscious Wayne were beamed aboard Swan Sonic, which turned around to return to base.

"I'm gonna need good luck.", Mark acknowledged to himself as he went back to the Rover Launcher. "Especially if Algrin shows up again."

* * *

Speaking of Algrin, he had washed up on the shores of a nearby beach. Throwing him down to Earth had resulted in him landing in the sea, injured but alive. After several hours of drifting, the mad Viscount had washed up on the shores nearby to Winter Valley. After waking up, his mind had one thought cursing through it. "Curse that witch, Uuhcura. I will be avenged." He then set off, hoping to find something he could use to begin his revenge.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Algrin's former ship, Queen Uuhcura had been redecorating his old quarters to suit her tastes. The rather simplistic bed had been discarded in favour of a more lavish double bed, complete with silk curtains. The room had also been covered with multiple candelabras. Halatia had been called into the room just now and was shocked by how quickly everything in the room seemed to have changed completely. Before she could voice her comments, there was a large flash. This cleared to reveal two almost identical aliens; one greyish, with a humanoid face and one bluish, with an insectoid face. "Who are you two?", she ended up asking.

"My, my. What do hey teach the children these days?", the grey one replied. "I am Kuroden and this here is my brother, Aobrix. The two of us are annihilators called upon to help subjugate rebellious planets by eliminating opposition. Now, I could ask you the same question."

Halatia was slightly annoyed to see this "annihilator" be so impertinent. "I'll have you know that I am the Princess Halatia, daughter of Queen Uuhcura and your future ruler."

Then Kuroden's eyes glowed, as he looked the woman in the eyes. "Oh really?"

"That will be all, Kuroden.", Uuhcura wisely decided to say as an interruption. She then held out her hand to be kissed, which was reciprocated. "I trust that you can rid us of our Flying Ranger problem, as requested."

"You betcha, your Majesty.", Aobrix blurted out. "I can't wait to get down there and smash 'em to little itty pieces."

"As my brother means to say beneath his mentally impaired exterior is that we will get on to the job right away, Queen Uuhcura.", Kuroden stated, as he read his current ruler's mind for images of the Power Rangers that were on Earth's faces. "But we will require the aid of Princess Halatia to do so.", he stated after finishing with his mind read.

The Princess raised her arm to object, but the Queen signalled for her to stand down. "I see. Good luck with your plan, boys."

* * *

Down on Earth, Mark was still driving towards Lulu and Stevens' location, when he was knocked off the road by a bolt of lightning. "Okay, I hope whoever did that has insurance." He soon found himself eating those words, as Kuroden, Aobrix and Princess Halatia teleported in. "How many of you creeps are there?"

"Don't worry, you won't live long enough to find out.", Kuroden answered. He then swung his sword towards the Red Ranger. "But don't worry, we aren't going to kill you while you think we're horrible people. We're going to reunite you with your lover first."

"Oh boy, can we do it now, bro? Can we? Can we?", Aobrix began begging.

Halatia was confused by the words of the Queen's Annihilators. "What are you two talking about?"

"Oh that's right. They never told you, did they?" Kuroden blasted the Princess with energy from his sword. She then began convulsing in pain, throwing away her sceptre. "There is no Princess of the Dominion. And if there was, she certainly wouldn't resemble you, Halatia." Then the Princess's outfit and hairstyle completely changed, turning her into a woman with short hair and a worker's uniform. "Or should I say, Major Mary James of Project: Jetman?"

Mark was momentarily shocked to see this. The woman he thought had stolen his fiancée's face was really his fiancée. Realisation hit him as he remembered how he almost killed her in a blind rage. "Mary. It can't be. They took you away."

As he ran to take her in his arms, Aobrix took the opportunity to blast the two with his finger beams, sending them flying into a river. "They done blowed up, real good.", the alien commented giddily.

"Don't get overexcited, brother.", Kuroden warned. "We've only incapacitated them temporarily. For now, let's find and execute our other targets."

* * *

At the base, Carrie and Gordon were wheeling Wayne to the sickbay on a stretcher. "Move out of the way. This man needs urgent medical attention!", Carrie called out to get room to move. When they'd reached the sickbay and placed the patient on life support, Carrie delivered her other message. "We need to make sure that the Icarus is assembled in case it's required. With myself and Wayne out of commission, manual linkup isn't an option."

"I'll get on it.", the Commander replied. "But the Icarus may not be enough to counter this new threat."

"You mean that we can't do anything to win?"

"I didn't say that." The Commander turned on a monitor, showing off a visual that Carrie was stunned to see. "On it's own, the Icarus may not be enough on its own. But this new support robot should hopefully even the odds."

* * *

Meanwhile, Lulu and Steven had almost figured out a direction to head in, they were attacked by the two annihilators. "Where did these guys come from?", Steven asked.

"Who knows, but I'm not gonna get scared and cry. Not like that time." After Queen Uuhcura had reawakened that memory of being attacked as a child, she had become desperate to avoid a repeat of that incident.

Kuroden locked his sword with Steven's fist. "Do you really think you can accomplish much against us? Especially since there are only two of you left." He then pushed on the sword, knocking his opponent down.

Lulu was momentarily shocked into stopping. "'Only two of us'? What did you do to the others?"

Aobrix took advantage of this distraction to knock her back with a beam from his staff. "That traitor Algrin took care of the Black Ranger, your White friend is too busy crying over him and Red… well we don't really know, but it can't be good for him."

"Oh no.", Lulu ought to herself. That meant that if something really bad happened to her, her brother wouldn't be there to protect her.

* * *

Speaking of Mark, he and Mary had washed up on the river's shores, with Mark trying desperately to wake up his girlfriend. "Mar, come on. Don't be dead. Please don't be dead. Wake up."

And she was, by his shouting. "Oh god. Mark, is that really you?"

"Of course it is.", he told her, now excited. "It's okay, Mary. You're awake now."

"Awake? I was never asleep.", came her response. "I saw everything that she did. Trying to destroy Earth, fighting you, emotionally attacking your friends." Mark was somewhat horrified to hear this, realising she must have seen him almost killing her.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry that I tried to kill you that time.", Mark decided to say. "That other you was really good at acting like someone else entirely."

"It's okay. In a way, I was hoping you'd actually succeed, if only to put an end to my pain."

Mark then realised he hadn't asked the real question that was burning in his mind. "How did you end up being their puppet? I thought they'd sent you off to one of those mining planets they own."

Mary stood up. "No. They took me to a room with a chair, where they started asking me questions. I tried to resist, but the machine they had on my head weakened my will. After they were done, Algrin wanted to kill me. But then that robot, Galvahex decided to have me brainwashed into thinking I was their princess."

"Well that doesn't matter now.", Mark said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "What matters is that you're here now. And you're not going anywhere." He then got interrupted by an explosion in the distance, which he figured must involve the still missing Lulu and Steven. "I've got to go. My team needs me. Stay right here until I get back." And with that, he morphed into the Red Ranger and jumped off into the distance.

"How touching. The Knight has rescued his princess at last."

Mary turned around to see what was by now an all to familiar face. "Algrin!"

"How mice to see you remember your old ally.", Algrin smiled as he held up Halatia's discarded rod. "But it's not you I'm here for, human."

* * *

Elsewhere, the two annihilators had almost finished wiping the floor with the two remaining Rangers. "Oh, this is boring.", Aobrix whined. "I thought fighting Power Rangers would be a lot more fun."

"'Power Rangers'? What're those?", Lulu asked, thinking that the name sounded slightly silly when said out loud.

"Unfortunately, you won't live to find out.", Kuroden declared, preparing to raise his sword.

But before he could bring it down, the two aliens were knocked back, but not down, by a flurry of blasts. Standing on top of the rock was the Red Ranger, who proceeded to put his Beak Blaster away. "Sorry if I'm late to the party. I stopped off on he way for a friend."

"Mark,", both Lulu and Steven cried out in joy.

"Oh you're not late to the party at all, Mark Goodman.", Kuroden said in response to these events.

"Especially since we were about to light the joint up.", Aobrix added.

"Alright.", Mark said, pulling out his Wing Saber. "Lulu, Steven. Let's make quick work of these aliens."

And thus, a new a battle began. But unfortunately, Mark's Wing Saber barely scratched Kuroden and Lulu and Steven attacking Aobrix with their Sky Enforcers only hurt them. And that was before the two annihilators began fighting back. Kuroden knocked the three down with a pair of boomerangs and Aobrix turned into a fireball to stop them from recovering.

"It's no good, we need to pool our powers.", Mark wheezed out. "Rover Launcher!"

**Cannon Mode!**

The large cannon flew down into the arms of the three remaining Flying Rangers. "Can we destroy these two with just the three of us?", Steven asked as the Cannon charged up.

"Let's just hope it can.", was all Lulu had to offer in response.

"Fire!", Mark called out as he pressed the button.

**Triple Firebird Impact!**

However, instead of absorbing the blast and dying, Kuroden and Aobrix caught it with their bare hands and threw it back at its source, knocking the three down. "Do you really think your pathetic weapons can hope to stop us?", Kuroden laughed.

"If that's the best you've got, the we'll show you our full power." Aobrix then blasted himself with energy from his staff, increasing his size to that of a colossus.

"Time to show you our real big guns.", Mark said, pressing the call button.

**Icarus Megazord! Go, Go!**

With the Megazord summoned, fully assembled as Mark had earlier requested, the three Rangers climbed into it and manned their usual controls. "How are we supposed to beat him without Wayne and Carrie?", Lulu asked.

"We compensate by using all of the weapons at our disposal.", Mark told her. "AviMace!"

The Icarus summoned a ball and chain which hit Aobrix and caused him some damage.

"I think I get what he's saying.", Steven realised in relation to Mark's suggestion. "Wing Axe!" The Icarus then hit its target with the aforementioned axe. "And now the Sky Slammer." This weapon was a large hammer which came swinging down on its target.

However, this was blocked by Aobrix. "You guys are getting really predictable. He then summoned up debris to throw at the Icarus.

However, Lulu was quick to react. "Swallow Shield!" The wings of the Swallow Plane appeared in the Icarus' left hand, blocking the debris.

But this just made Aobrix step up his attacks. As Kuroden looked on, his brother slashed the Icarus with his staff, sending it reeling. The Rangers tried fighting back with the AviMace, only for Aobrix to grab it and send it back to them. Finally, the alien used his staff to knock the enemy's robot down. "This is the end for you, little humans."

* * *

At the Nest, Caldwell was watching the whole scene on his monitor. "It's not looking good for the Rangers, ma'am. They're about to be defeated."

"Then we've got no choice.", the Commander told him. "Deploy Dash Boxer!"

**Action Shift, On! Boxer! Take Off! Go, Go!**

In a hangar bay, the Icarus' new support robot broke free of the scaffolding surrounding it as it burst into life. It then ran outside, before leaping up into the air and flying towards the scene where its brother was suffering.

* * *

"Say goodbye, Rangers. You've been fun, but I'm bored of you now." As Aobrix ran towards the downed Icarus, he was intercepted by the superior speed of Dash Boxer, who proceeded to beat him up. "What's that thing?"

"That's what we'd like to know.", Mark said. He then spoke into his communications relay. "Do you know anything about this, Gordon?"

"This is the new support robot for the Icarus.", came the reply. "His name is Dash Boxer. Try using the Combo Shift with him."

"What's the 'Combo Shift'?", asked Lulu.

"Don't you remember? It's what the communicator announced the first time we formed the Icarus.", Steven clarified. "Later combinations are under the Action Shift."

"Well, we need to do the Combo Shift first.", Mark said, as he pressed the buttons.

**Combo Shift, On! Boxer! Boxer, Power On!**

Having finished beating Aobrix senseless, Dash Boxer jumped into the air and transformed into a 4 barrelled cannon. The Icarus then aimed its new weapon at its enemy. "Boxer Cannon! Victory Dynamic!" The Cannon fired a blast that hit Aobrix head on, vaporising him.

"No!", Kuroden called out. "How did I not see this in any of their minds? Rest assured, brother. I won't let your defeat go to waste."

But before he could do anything to actually fight back, he received a telepathic communique from Queen Uuhcura. "Kuroden, return to base. Your mission on Earth is now concluded."

Kuroden growled as he teleported up. "This isn't over, Rangers. I will get my revenge."

Back in the cockpit, Lulu turned to Mark. "Okay, we've defeated one of those guys and the other turned tail. Can we go home now?"

"Not yet.", Mark told her. "We've got someone to pick up."

* * *

So after flying a few miles away from the quarry, Mark and Lulu teleported down to see Mary. She was facing a nearby boulder and holding both of her hands in front of her waist. "So, you've come back for me?", she said in an emotionless voice.

"Of course I did. You know I'd never abandon you. You're my girl.", Mark replied. "I also decided to introduce you to my sister Lulu, without your other half in control."

"Hiya.", the teenage girl waved sheepishly.

"It's okay, Mary. You're going to come home."

"Well that's too bad." Mary turned around and blasted the two backwards with energy from Halatia's rod. "I don't want to go back home. Not now, not ever."

"What the?", was all Mark had to say. "I thought you were rid of your evil half."

"Well as it turns out, I'm a lot harder to get rid of than you think.", Halatia said in response. "Although the spell of false memories cast on me was broken, the second persona that my lord Algrin created for me wasn't. Now I've got your little girlfriend crying her eyes out in the back of my head. And you know what? I'm happy about that. As long as she suffers, you suffer."

"And just as I thought we'd lost one enemy, she just became a better actress.", Lulu said, slightly annoyed.

"Oh Mary was in control to begin with.", the woman standing before them replied. "I simply got help in taking control of this body back." She then pressed a trigger on her sceptre, before pressing down on the top. There was a flash of light, as Halatia's clothes and hair reformed onto Mary as if by magic. "We'll meet in battle again, Mark. And then, I shall defeat you once and for all." With that said, she cracked her whip, sending the two siblings flying backwards, before teleporting out.

Mark and Lulu were left standing there, stunned at the truth behind one of their deadliest enemies.


	14. The Queen's Battle, Part 1

Deep in space, on the planet Avion Minor, long-since decimated by the Dominion, two stragglers were out searching for supplies. These two were Avior, an older creature with his young protege Gliderak. Both of them were blue skinned humanoid birds, with no wings or flight capability, both armed with ray guns. As they were walking back to their base, Gliderak collapsed. "It's no good.", he called out. "You and Aluze should just head on without me."

Avior went back to pick up his ward. "Don't be so self-sacrificial, Gliderak.", he said as he put he younger Avion's arm around his shoulder. "You and I both know that Falcon Corde requires 3 of us to fly. And we need to use it to get to Earth and exact our revenge on the witch who wrecked our world."

"Of course, Avior.", came the response. "We've only survived so far thanks to the technology and strategies that Jangar provided to our people. If only she didn't have to leave us, we might've prevented our own downfall."

"You can't change the past, son. But we can make arrangements for a better future for other species."

As the two moved on, they eventually found their way back to their holdout, where the Falcon Corde was waiting for take off. This was a giant jet, capable of intergalactic travel and modelled after a distant ancestor, that legends said had a distant cousin on the planet Earth, the current target of Queen Uuhcura. It could also transform itself into a form based more on the current Avions, armed with a pair of powerful claws. As Gliderak and Avior entered the base, they were met by an unfamiliar woman, who resembled an Earth Alien with dark skin. The two promptly pulled their weapons out on her.

"Guys, relax.", the woman called out in panic. She then pressed a button, changing into a female of their species. "It's me, Aluze. I was just testing our holographic disguise kits for when we arrive on Earth."

"I'd say, based on our immediate reactions, it works like a charm.", Avior noted. "Almost indistinguishable from real Earth Aliens."

Gliderak was less pleased. "Is here a reason we need to use such a cowardly method? Wouldn't it be better to show our real faces when forging an alliance?"

"The Earth Aliens don't have a large experience with Aliens not associated with the enemy.", was Aluze's answer. "Until we can get to a position of relative trust, contact protocols dictate that we assume a more visually appealing form to such civillisations." She then handed both her comrades their own disguise kits."

Gliderak took his in a huff, using it to transform his body into a young humanoid male, Caucasian with blonde hair. Avior then took his and turned into a slightly older figure, with vestiges of grey hair and a beard. "Is the Falcon Corde ready for takeoff?"

"I've input the co-ordinates and calibrated the hyper-jump system.", was Aluze's response. "But it's going to be some time before we're fully fuelled enough to break orbit and re-enter later on."

"Well, we'll have to wait. Hopefully, we'll still be able to get there before it's too late for them to fight back."

* * *

"Hey Sleepy-head, wake up." Wayne opened his eyes to see Mark sitting next to him as he lay down on a bed. "Thank god. You've been out for days. Lulu and Steven were taking bets on whether you'd pull through or not."

"Looks like Lulu owes Steven 8 dollars.", Carrie commented as she walked in. "But in all seriousness, I'm glad you're okay." She leaned in to hug him.

"Hey, ease up a little.", Wayne said. "I'm not quite over the pain yet." He then turned back to Mark. "So Goodman, what trouble did you get into while I was out?"

Mark gulped, before explaining the events of their battle with Kuroden and Aobrix, along with the appearance of Dash Boxer and the reveal that Princess Halatia was actually his (Mark's) girlfriend Mary. He then described how the Halatia persona was still in control of Mary's body and had been last seen hiding out somewhere in the city.

"Man, that's rough.", was all Wayne had to say in relation to hearing of his friend's relationship troubles. "How are you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm trying to stay calm and avoid letting it get me down.", Mark replied. "But now, I've got a clear goal to fight for. All I've got to do is track her down and bring Mary back."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Lowfall Apartments, the manager Leroy Leonard was busy making the menus for the next few days. Then he was interrupted by a woman coming up to him. "I'd like to take back the keys to my room, please.", she said.

"Who you in a minute, Miss…" Leroy looked up from his notebook to be greeted with an unexpected surprise. …James? I thought you were still on your mission for the Government?"

"Oh, that project ended up crashing and burning.", "Mary" said. She was wearing what looked like a half-hearted Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday style outfit, without the sunglasses or hat. " I'll be staying here again for the next few days, until I can find another job."

"That's nice miss.", Leroy commented as he fished around for the key. "You know, that boyfriend of yours has been around a lot since you left. He's been looking after the place so much we gave him a spare key."

"I wouldn't expect anything less of him.", came the reply. As Leroy handed "Mary" her key and she walked off, she turned around and made sure to comment "I won't be having my normal breakfast routine while I'm here."

* * *

Once she was in her apartment, a place that was only able to be so lavish because of Mrs. James helping with the rent, Halatia breathed a sigh of relief. She then went over to the door to the balcony, opened it and called out "You can come in now. Nobody's looking."

A flash of light appeared, clearing to reveal a disgruntled Algrin. "To think a noble of the Dominion has been reduced to living in a human's domicile. How revolting."

"I knew I should've cleaned up before inviting you over.", Halatia said sarcastically. "Now then, what's the plan? Surely you don't intend to spend your life in exile mooching off my other half's mother."

"The Queen's child is expected to be born within the next few hours.", Algrin said in response. I intend to observe from afar, identify any weaknesses and then destroy him."

"What about the Flying Rangers? Mark and the others won't just sit back and watch as Uuhcura Jr. wreaks havoc."

Algrin turned towards his colleague's face. "Then I may have to be content with taking out the Queen herself."

* * *

And speaking of the Queen, she had invited Kuroden, Galvahex and Fwelf into her throne room. "The three of you are privileged. Very few can claim to be present at the birth of a royal heir."

Fwelf merely stared at the egg, which was now on the table. "So, when exactly does the egg start to crack? Because that baby looks like he's not ready."

"Not at all.", Uuhcura replied. "He merely needs to leech off energy from a powerful being. And I have chosen the perfect candidate to provide." She then turned on a light elsewhere in the room, revealing a body on the wall.

"Aobrix!", Kuroden cried out with anger. "How dare you, you -"

Galvahex stopped his cohort before he could do anything. "With respect to Kuroden your highness, is it not traditional on their planet for their remains to be siphoned off by the closest relative?"

"This isn't their planet.", was all the Queen said to reply. "And this failure is hardly deserving of any such honours."She then sapped the energy from the body of Aobrix, reducing it to nothing but a small clump of tissue. "My son, on the other hand, will no doubt make excellent use of this power." She then zapped out that same energy into the egg, which began glowing. "Now, come forth and make this world your playground, Kodokor!" But instead of producing the expected child, there was a bang and the podium was now bare. "What has happened? Where is my son?", Uuhcura called out in anger.

Fwelf brought up his scanner. "Something went wrong with the energy transfer. Kodokor was born, but he also got transported somewhere in the city of Winter Valley."

"Good riddance.", Kuroden said under his breath.

"Well go and get him back, you fools!", Uuhcura yelled. "Robot, take Kuroden with you and search the city."

"At once, my Queen." Galvahex teleported out, taking Kuroden with him.

* * *

In the Nest's control room, Caldwell observed something on his monitor. "Ma'am, I'm detecting something headed for the centre of the city, coming in fast. I'm also detecting teleport signals on separate sides of the city."

"Send out the Rangers.", Gordon commanded. "Whatever's about to go down, it can't be good."

* * *

Some time later, Steven was out looking for the disturbance in the city. He was met with multiple people running scared from the other direction. "Can you please remain calm? We are currently assessing the situation." He then saw a little boy with a blank expression standing in place, not moving. "Little boy, there's a crisis in progress.", Steven called out. "You need to go home."

"I want to go home.", the boy replied, his expression unchanged. "I just need to find my mother. She lost me and I don't know where to go to find her again."

Hearing this, Steven decided to ask a question of the child. "Do you know who you are?"

"I don't know.", came the boy's response. "All I know is that I need to find my mother again."

Steven instantly had a sad look on his face. "I know how you feel. I don't remember anything about my past either. I don't even know if my real name is 'Steven Hartford'. That's just what was on the dog tags they found me with. I recall fighting a war, but that's it."

"So what?"

"So, I think you'd be better off coming with me.", Steven said slightly annoyed with this little….

"No!", the boy pulled away. "I have to find my way to Mother. As soon as possible." He turned and ran back towards the site of the impact.

"Wait, kid.", Steven called out, running after the kid.

* * *

Elsewhere, Wayne was examining the site of the crash, where the smoke had dissipated. "Looks like whatever crashed here wasn't very large." He then saw a set of footprints coming out of the crash, gradually becoming more humanoid and forming shoes. "And it also seems that whatever it was took on humanoid form and walked away. But where did it go from there?"

"A question I would like to see answered too, Wayne Burley." Wayne turned around to see the familiar shape of Galvahex standing behind him. "It's nice to see you've recovered. If I'd known where you were, I'd have sent flowers."

"That's nice to know.", Wayne said sarcastically. "Just because I've been out for a while, doesn't mean that I'm not still trying to one up you." He then reached for his change bracelet, pressing it. "Let's Fly!" After his transformation into the Black Ranger was complete, he did a "bring it" gesture. "Let's dance, metal-face."

And so, another fight between the two broke out. Wayne got in two hits with his Wing Saber, but they didn't so much as make a dent in Galvahex's armour. The robot then blocked the next hit and swung his opponent around before throwing him to the floor. "You're getting sloppy."

Wayne then changed tactics and pulled out his Beak Blaster. "How predictable is this?" He then fired at his opponent 3 times.

However, this was about as effective as the Wing Saber. "Not predictable, but bad." He then extended his arm and fired the built in cannons, sending his opponent flying. Wayne realised that this might just be a tough fight.

* * *

"Hey kid.", Steven called out, still searching the area. "Where did you go?" He then saw Halatia and Algrin searching the area, quickly ducking behind some barrels. "What're those two doing here? Probably nothing good." He then got back up and followed the two around the corner. He then saw the two attacking the boy from earlier.

"Why are you doing this?", the boy asked, still unchanging in tone or expression. "I haven't seen either of you in my life."

"That may be true.", Halatia pointed out. "But we know who you are and how important you are to Queen Uuhcura."

"Which is why we know killing you will definitely send our message.", Algrin added, as he brandished his sword.

But before he could use it, he had his hand shot at. He turned around to see the Yellow Ranger, brandishing his Beak Blaster. "Hey, didn't you hear? Hurting a kid is not cool."

"Oh I quite agree.", came the voice of Kuroden, who teleported in. "These two traitors have to know their place when they attempt to assault the Queen's only child." He said this last part with particular emphasis, with his eyes pointing solely at Halatia.

This only served to make her angry with Algrin. "That reminds me, why did you take me and turn me into a fake princess? It's been a real sore point for both of us." (Us referring to the Mary persona, who was still buried deep in the body's subconscious.)

"I don't know.", Algrin said defensively. "It was that stupid robot's idea. All I did was think of the ramifications and propose it to the Queen."

But Steven was more focused on what Kuroden had said. "That kid… is the the Queen's… child?"

"Exactly, give the man his prize.", Kuroden said sarcastically. "The Queen caused this little nuisance to be sent to Earth during his birthing process. But I'm here to help bring him home." As he said this last part, he materialised his sword behind his back, intending to use it to stab the child and reclaim his brother's powers.

"Yes.", the boy said, his voice and expressions becoming more manic. "I remember now. I'm not one of these filthy humans." His voice now become a gravelly, demonic voice. "I am the Crown Prince of my Mother's Dominion, heir to the universe not touched by Dark Specter. I am Prince Kodokor. And you shall witness my ascension!" He then burst into evil laughter, surrounding his body with a black haze, with only a pair of glowing red eyes visible.

Steven was quick to attack the mass of haze that was forming. "Sky Enforcer! Break Mode!" But before his punch could hit its mark, he was knocked back by an influx of energy. "This kid doesn't want to go down at all."

"That's unfortunate.", Kuroden commented. Then he pulled out his sword from behind his back. "But at least I can take down 3 of my enemies now."

"Make that six." Kuroden was blasted back by the arrivals of Carrie, Lulu and Mark. All were wielding different weapons, with Carrie using her Beak Blaster, Lulu using her Sky Enforcer and Mark hoLding his Wing Saber.

"I don't like our odds now.", Algrin said. "Let's fall back and regroup at our hideout." He teleported out, but Halatia remained.

"Not yet.", she answered him slightly too late. "There's someone I need to find first." She then teleported away, but in the opposite direction to her comrade.

None of the combatants noticed this, for they were still engaged in their battle. Although Kuroden still displayed some of the fighting prowess that he had earlier, he was now outmatched by the 3 Rangers. "Wasn't this guy a lot tougher before?", Lulu asked.

"Maybe you needed me more than you think.", Carrie responded sarcastically.

"Or destroying his brother has made him unable to work effectively.", Mark suggested. "In a way, that makes him and I brothers in tragedy."

"That may be.", Kuroden wheezed. "But we are not the same. For my brother, there is no hope of revival. That witch Uuhcura made sure of that." He then became angry and slashed Lulu and Carrie, knocking them back.

"Then why do you work for her?", Mark asked. "You obviously don't want to fight for her, so you'd probably be better fighting against her."

As Kuroden considered these words, the haze dissipated, revealing a taller red creature, with a knight's-helmet-like head and a pair of wings. "Ah, that's better.", Kodokor declared, stretching his new form. "But something's missing. Oh I know." He summoned up a larger haze that covered up his body, which quickly cleared to reveal a larger version, the size of a colossus. This new giant sized Kodokor destroyed two whole buildings and part of the road simply by standing up. "Oh that's right, human suffering." He then began zapping the city's buildings with energy, wrecking them and causing people to flee.

Kuroden stopped fighting and teleported out, only stopping to say "I'll leave Kodokor to finish you off."

Steven was worried. "How can we stop that thing? Especially since he can grow on his own."

"The same way we always stop these things.", came Mark's answer. "By using the Icarus."

* * *

Elsewhere, Wayne and Galvahex were still fighting, when they too saw the giant Kodokor wrecking the city. "What is that thing?", Wayne asked.

"The end of your species, if nothing can stop it.", came the robot's answer. "I wish you luck." He hen kicked Wayne back and began walking backwards to get away.

"Going somewhere?" Galvahex stopped after hearing the familiar voice. He turned his head around to see Halatia standing there. "Hopefully, it's to my place, because we need to talk."

Wayne didn't notice his, instead pulling up his communicator. "Mark, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You know it. So, let's do it."

* * *

Back on Avion 4, the three Avions, now sporting their human disguises, were now ready to launch the Falcon Corde. "Vector scope, online.", Avior announced.

"All weapons, online.", Aluze added.

"Main engines, ready.", Gliderak concluded. "We are go for launch."

**Get Set, Ready? Dashing! Dashing! Dashing! Dashing!**

"Take off!", Avior pressed a button on his display, activating the monitor.

**Goooo! F-F-F-Falcon!**

With that, the large ship tore away from its dead home, on a course through space to the planet Earth. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too late to help stop the Dominion's plans for the planet.

* * *

**Vehicle Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Action Shift, On! Icarus Megazord! Take Off! Go, Go!**

The Icarus now came face to face with Kodokor, who was decidedly unimpressed. "So you want to play with me? You should know, I'm slightly rough to be with." He then proceeded to attack his opponent.

"We'll just have to play ball.", Mark replied. "AviMace!" The Icarus launched its weapon at the opponent, only for Kodokor to summon up a blade and cut the chain.

"You naughty boy.", Wayne commented. "Looks like a good beating is in order." He then activated the Flying Knuckle.

However, Kodokor managed to catch this, much to the shock of the 5 Rangers. "I'd like to return to sender." He then threw it back at the Icarus, sending it backwards.

"What do we do know?", Carrie asked.

"The only thing we can do.", Mark answered. "Finish that thing now. Icarus Saber!"

But as the Icarus brought its weapon down, Kodokor caught the blade and broke off the edge, holding it in his left hand. He then sent the Icarus up into the air with telekinesis, before slamming down to the ground. "Well that was fun, but I promised to break my toys. He then slashed off both of the Icarus' arms with his stolen blade, before preparing to deliver the finishing blow. "Say goodbye, Rangers."

Lulu was really worried now. "Mark, what do we do? You always know what to do."

"I don't know.", her brother said, with clear panic in his voice. "I really don't know. I think this could really be the end."


	15. The Queen's Battle, Part 2

June Gordon could only watch as the horror unfolded. The Icarus Megazord, the crown jewel of her Flying Ranger project, was being beaten by the giant Kodokor, with massive damage. "Can't you do anything?", she screamed with desperation at her assistant Caldwell.

"Nothing, Commander.", was Caldwell's reply. "The Icarus has already taken damage to 60% of their systems. Unless they pull out now, they're not going to survive this."

"And Kodokor isn't giving them the chance to pull away safely.", Gordon noted. "Unless there's a miracle, this is the end."

* * *

And in the streets, Halatia and Galvahex were also watching the scene with similar thoughts. "All that work I put into perfecting that robot and it's about to go up in smoke.", Halatia tutted.

"So you remember your past as a human, Princess.", Galvahex commented.

"Don't call me a princess, because I'm not.", Halatia snapped at him. "Yes, I know who I really am, I know that you trapped me in a living lie and I'd very much like to know why YOU were the one to suggest that."

Galvahex thought for a moment, then responded. "Very well. I'll explain everything to you, Mary James. But not here." With that, the two continued on their route.

* * *

"Say goodbye, human garbage.", Kodokor declared, about to bring down his stolen blade on its former owner.

"All weapons, full power now!" Kodokor was bombarded by unfriendly fire from above, which blew the broken Icarus Saber blade out of his hand.

"What was that?", Kodokor asked as he looked up. He saw a large bird-shaped ship flying above shooting at him.

The five Rangers also saw this from the downed Icarus. "What is that thing?", Wayne asked. "It wasn't in the station plans."

"Whatever it is, it's on our side.", Carrie responded. "At least I think it is."

"It looks kind of like a falcon.", Steven commented.

* * *

Onboard the Falcon Corde, Gliderak was amazed. "So this is Earth. It looks so beautiful from up here."

"Stay focused, lad.", Avior said to calm his subordinate. "We have a mission on this planet."

"Firing cryo-laser.", Aluze called out as she activated another weapon on her array.

The Falcon fired a beam at the monster, freezing him in a large block of ice. "Now humans.", Avior said, as he accessed the communication frequency of the Icarus. "Use this opportunity to withdraw. We'll handle this beast."

The Rangers were shocked by this message. "How does this guy have our frequency?", Lulu asked. "I was assured it was a secret. I don't want to learn that Sasha or Lila could've overheard my conversations with you guys."

"We'll answer that later.", Mark told her. "For now, let's take his advice and fall back." The Icarus split into the three remaining Ranger Vehicles, with Stephen and Lulu tagging along in Mark's Hawk Flier.

No sooner than the remaining Vehicles pulling out did Kodokor promptly break free from his icy prison, visually no worse for wear. "Well that didn't keep him down for long.", Gliderak commented.

"It was never intended to.", Avior said in response. "It was meant to buy time for the humans to escape. Now it's up to us to stop that creature."

Gliderak rubbed his hands together with glee. "I've been waiting to do his. Initiating Falcon Corde Warrior Mode!" He hen depressed a lever on his array.

**Transfalcon!**

The bird-like ship flew up into the air, where it's wings retracted and it's jets extended, creating a humanoid body. The talons moved to the sides of the vehicle, which split off into arms. Finally, the head of the vehicle folded down to face Kodokor, as the transformation was complete.

* * *

"What do you mean you lost Galvahex?", Uuhcura yelled at Kuroden, unleashing energy onto him.

Kuroden recoiled from this as he got up. "We decided to cover different grounds. If he hasn't returned, then I can't be held accountable."

The Queen accepted this response. "Very well. I can always get another learning android to oversee this campaign. For now, we'll watch my son as he takes out these newcomers."

But, unbeknownst to the others, Fwelf had noticed something wrong with Kodokor, and was now taking steps to do something.

* * *

On Earth, the Falcon Warrior Mode faced down Kodokor in the streets of downtown. "I don't care where you guys came from, but I'm still gonna break you like I broke that other robot." He fired a beam at his opponent, who swiftly dodged by jumping up.

"Not too bright, is he?", Aluze commented. "Let's show him what our vengeance can do." The Falcon then engaged in a diving kick, which Kodokor caught and used to throw his opponent to the ground, where it landed feet first. The Avion robot then proceeded to launch a flurry of scratches at it's opponent, which he eventually caught mid attack.

"Okay, you might actually be a challenge.", the Prince commented. He then swung the Falcon around, before throwing it into a building, which was crushed by the collision. "But I'm still gonna break you apart." But before he could, he received a telepathic message from his mother's ship, telling him to withdraw. "No Mother, I can defeat them here and now. I don't need to withdraw."

"Now's our chance.", Avior told the others as he turned the robot around. "Avion Maser!" The Falcon managed to hit Kodokor with a chest beam, before it collapsed again. Damaged by the shot, Kodokor deployed his wings and took off back to the ship.

"Well that was fun.", Gliderak said sarcastically. "What's our next course of action?"

"We find the base of those humans we saved.", Avior answered him. "I recognised some of their technology. I think they might be of help to our cause."

* * *

"You fool!", Uuhcura yelled at Fwelf as she zapped him with lightning. "Why did you call Kodokor back? He was winning against those fools."

"It was because of that ice.", was Fwelf's reply. "Although he wasn't contained for long, he suffered some slight genetic damage, that if left unchecked, would've killed him if he continued. I called him back so we can identify the damage and repair it, your Majesty."

The Queen was annoyed by this. "How long will this damage take to repair?"

Fwelf stuttered out his response. "At least one Earth day, my Queen."

"A day? That's far too long for my liking."

"Maybe so, but it's long enough for me." The Queen was blasted by Kuroden, who had entered brandishing his sword. "You've been treating me with nothing but disrespect since you called me to this stupid rock. And then Mark Goodman gave me a good idea. If my leader isn't respecting me, then I become my own leader." He then ran towards Uuhcura with his sword arm outstretched.

But before he could begin his attack, Uuhcura assumed her Berserker Mode and held him in place with her psychokinesis. "First Algrin and now you, Kuroden? Is no-one loyal anymore?" She then walked over to the Mutasect enclosure and removed a specimen. "However, you're too valuable a warrior for me to lose. So I'll use you for my latest brand of warrior." She then compressed the prone Kuroden into energy and transferred it to the Mutasect, turning it into a different looking insect, with only 4 arms instead of 8 and a large gem on its chest, in addition to the tail having turned into multiple tentacles.

Fwelf was intrigued by this new creation. "What is that thing? It's not like any Mutasect I've seen before."

"That's because this is a Hybrasect.", the Queen informed him. "In my experiments with Mutasects, I discovered that trying to have them assimilate organic material causes them to transform into these creatures. This results in their eventual body having elements of the creature they ingested earlier." She then pulled out the remains of Aobrix. "Let's see what happens when a Hybrasect assimilates two organic components." When she placed the Hybrasect created from Kuroden on the remnants of Aobrix, the result was a humanoid monstrosity, with deformed facial features, tentacles surrounding his body and a giant eye on his chest similar to the Hybrasect's gem. "Now my Mutabrid, go down to the Earth and make up for the incapacitation of Kodokor."

The creature growled as it teleported itself down to Earth. Fwelf could only watch, wondering when it would be his turn to be killed or get lost.

* * *

Back on Earth, the Rangers had returned to the Nest, followed soon after by their Avion rescuers. They had parked the Falcon Corde on the side of the complex and introduced themselves. Now they were discussing the fate of their planet Avion Minor.

"Our world was one of peace, with plenty of resources for all of its inhabitants and a prospering economy.", Avior explained mournfully. "But that all changed when the Dominion came."

Aluze continued the story. "Queen Uuhcura discovered that our planet had a race of insects that could bond to objects in order to survive. You know them as Mutasects. The attack on our planet was devastating, with massive losses of life. Our extinction seemed almost certain."

"But then, we got help.", Gliderak took over. "Help came from one of the Keiam, the inhabitants of our twin planet, Avion Major. She gave us weapons that helped us fight back and hold off the Dominion's warriors."

"But it was all for naught.", Avior declared. "The Keiam abandoned us and our people still fell to Uuhcura's forces. We are the last survivors of Avion Minor and the Falcon Corde is the last of the weapons we were given."

The Rangers were overcome with sympathy. "So I assume you came here to try and save us from the same fate."

Aluze nodded. "That was our intention. But unfortunately, we couldn't defeat that creature. Our armour and weapons held, but we weren't strong enough to finish it."

"Ironic.", Wayne commented. "We were strong against it, but we couldn't scratch it with our weapons and our armour failed." Then he snapped his fingers. "That's it."

Steven was confused. "What's it? I don't get what you're saying."

"I too require further clarity.", Gliderak added.

Aluze came to the same realisation that Wayne did. "I think I know. He is suggesting that we modify our two robots to create a more powerful warrior born from the combination of our two robots. Am I correct to assume this?"

"Yes you are, Aluze.", Wayne answered. "With our strength and your armour and weapons, we'll have something that could take down Kodokor and stick it to Uuhcura once and for all."

"Won't that require a lot of modifications?", Carrie thought to ask. "We are working with technologies from two different planets."

"Not at all.", Avior replied. "We merely need to look at your Icarus' plans and modify our Falcon to combine with it."

As everyone was about to celebrate having come up with a solution, the alert sounded. "Rangers, we've detected Kuroden's signal at a quarry. But it's been corrupted somehow.", Caldwell announced.

"Looks like we're going to have to wait to begin work on the new project.", Lulu commented.

"No it won't.", Mark commented. "You guys go on ahead. I'll introduce our Avion friends to the Icarus' inner workings."

The other 4 all nodded in agreement and moved out.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Mary's apartment, Algrin was not happy with Halatia's decision. "Why did you bring the robot here? He could give away our presence to the Queen."

"He won't.", Halatia assured him. "He's too loyal to me to do anything against us. If anything, I've brought us another ally to help us overthrow Uuhcura." She then dismissed herself and went over to Galvahex, who was waiting in another room. "Now then, answer my question. Why did you decide to make me into a fake princess?"

"Because of what I saw in your mind.", came the robot's response. "The images I saw showed me the true beauty of your planet in a way none of our previous captives had with theirs. I wished to keep you onboard so that I could continue to learn more about Earth and its culture. But the standard procedure for brain scrape victims was to terminate them. So I came up with a reason to keep you alive that would satisfy Algrin and Uuhcura."

"And what was that reason?"

"That you would be a valuable trophy of our conquests.", Galvahex continued. "I expected that you would merely be put into a prison or a zoo. Instead, Uuhcura and Algrin decided to have you brainwashed into a warrior to destroy your own planet, with a fake name and relevant information implanted into your brain. I didn't want to do it, because it would take away the one part of you that made me want to spare you."

"Then why did you do it?", Halatia asked.

"Because I have no choice. I am merely a slave to my programming." Halatia, annoyed by this reasoning, decided to walk out of the room and go to bed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Wayne, Steven, Carrie and Lulu arrived at their destination, where they saw the Mutabrid, smashing barrels and snarling. "This is Kuroden?", Wayne asked. "You made him seem a lot more intelligent. This guy seems to be no smarter than a hyena."

"Come to think of it, he does look different.", Steven noted. "Maybe he powered himself up and whatever he did scrambled his brain?"

But before any further discussions could take place, the Mutabrid ran forward and began swinging at them, knocking them apart. "Is this really the time to be discussing our theories?", Carrie suggested.

"Carrie's right.", Lulu said. "Let's wrap up this tentacled freak before Mark gets here."

The 4 four then engaged the Mutabrid in battle. Wayne and Lulu managed to get a few kicks in at the creature, while Steven and Carrie knocked it back with their punches. However, they weren't able to take it down quick enough for it to discover it had the ability to fire lasers, which it used to knock its opponent back a few feet. "Do we have a real lan to take him out?", Carrie complained.

"We're too hemmed in at this warehouse.", Wayne said. "We need to get to somewhere that's more open. Hopefully Kuroden will follow."

* * *

Meanwhile, Mark was showing the Avions the storage hangar for the Vehicles. "The plans you want to look at should be in here. It's where we assembled them when the Dominion first attacked." As he was about to open the panels to examine the interior workings, Commander Gordon entered the room. "Ah Commander, I was just giving our guests here a closer look at the vehicles as part of our plan to make some upgrades to them."

"So I see.", Gordon responded.

Avior then took a good look at the woman who had entered and said "So you must be the leader of Earth's efforts to repel the Dominion. I'd like to talk with you in private. I'm sure that Aluze and Gliderak can handle the mechanical aspects." He then led Gordon out of the room, whereupon he dropped his unnatural behaviour. "Who are you?", he asked with some anger.

"Wing Commander June Gordon, United States Air Force.", was her response.

"No, that's not true. That's not true at all. You can drop the act around me." Avior now began circling the woman. "I know who you are and I know you're not human."

* * *

Back in the hangar, Aluze was now studying the mechanics of the vehicles. "Fascinating. This technology is very much like the technology we received from the Keiam. How did you come by it?"

Mark was confused by the comparison, but answered nonetheless. "Commander Gordon invented it apparently. Then our group of technics up on our space station worked on making the robot a reality." Mark stopped himself, having made himself sad upon mentioning the space station. It reminded him of his girlfriend Mary, who was now trapped by her evil split personality that was working for the Dominion. But he put it aside and asked a question of his own. "This 'Keiam' who helped you, did she have a name?"

"As a matter of fact, she did.", came Gliderak's response. "She answered to 'Jangar'."

Mark thought about this. Jangar was the same name he'd heard from the captives on Tann's world. The one who had disappeared years ago. Where had she gone that there'd been no word of her for years? Then his communicator beeped and he answered it. It was Lulu on the other side."

"Mark, we need you. We've managed to lure Kuroden to the quarry but he's too powerful for us to take down. We need you."

"I'm on my way.", he replied as he closed the communicator. He then turned to the Avions. "Sorry guys, I'm gonna have to cut our tour short. You'll have to start on the plans yourself." With that, he turned and ran off.

Gliderak almost followed, but Aluze put a stop to that. "Oh no, you heard the boss's orders. No fighting directly unless absolutely necessary. Now get back here." Gliderak pouted and turned back.

* * *

In the Quarry, the Mutabrid had almost got the better of the 4 Rangers it was fighting, a fact which made it growl out a laugh. But then it heard the sound of a dune-buggy pulling up, which made it turn to face the noise. Then the 5th ranger jumped down and kicked it to the ground, before running over to his team.

"Are you guys alright?", Mark asked.

Lulu decided to get snarky. "No, we're still in danger, waiting for you to rescue us."

"There's a time and a place.", Carrie commented.

At this, the Mutabrid uprighted itself and turned back towards its 5 targets. "And this is the time and the place to Ranger up.", Mark declared. "Let's do it."

The others nodded and all pressed their bracelets in sync. "Let's Fly!" The 5 of them all had wireframes deposited into them, which their suits were then deposited on to. They then proceeded to do a series of unique poses.

Mark: "Hawk!"

Wayne: "Condor!"

Steven: "Owl!"

Carrie: "Swan!"

Lulu: "Swallow!"

"We are the invincible Flying Rangers!"

The 5 then proceeded to engage the Mutabrid, all armed with their Sky Enforcers. Mark hit it with a straight up hit in Break Mode, followed by Wayne and Steven spinning around and doing likewise. Then the girls used their Enforcers' Burst Modes to launch beams of energy at the creature, destroying it.. However, the Hybrasect within absorbed these beams and used them to reconstruct its body as a giant.

"That didn't look like a standard Mutasect.", Wayne noted. "Something's different about it."

"And yet, I'm still getting to be the one to trigger their growth.", Carrie commented.

"This isn't the time.", Mark reprimanded both of them, before pulling up his communicator. "We need the vehicles, now."

**Take Off! Go, Go!**

As the vehicles beamed their occupants aboard, Mark radioed the others. "We can't afford any more damage to the vehicles. We need to finish this quickly. Let's combine into the Icarus Bomber."

"Roger.", the others all responded, as they commenced the combination.

**Action Shift, On! Plane! Sonic! Jet! Zoom! Flier! Icarus Bomber! Take Off! Go, Go!**

After the combination had completed itself, the Falcon Corde came flying in on autopilot, with a message from Aluze. "Good news, Rangers. We've completed stage one modifications. Which means that the Falcon can give your Bomber a boost."

"Let's try it out.", Mark said as he pressed a button on his communicator.

**Falcon-bine!**

**Combo Shift, On! Falcon! Falcon, Power On!**

The Falcon Corde's head moved from the center to the top of the vehicle, as the main body plugged into the back of its comrade. "Hyper Bomber, Assembly Complete!" The Hyper Bomber then flew at increased speed across the chasm, eventually hitting the Mutabrid with enough force to destroy him entirely.

However, the collision was no less rough on the pilots than the target. "I am never doing that again.", Steven complained.

Lulu nodded in agreement. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Are you hearing this Aluze?"

The voice of the female Avion came up over the radio. "We'd better save this as a last resort. For now, we'll focus on the main combination."

* * *

Back at the Nest, Avior, who had also watched the fight, now turned back to the woman calling herself Commander Gordon. "Are you really so sure that you can't trust these humans? Look how easily they functioned with our help."

"My secrets are mine to decide when to share.", was the woman's reply.

"Fair enough. But I'm warning you. It's better that they know the truth sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it won't end very well for you." With that warning given, Avior left the room, leaving the Commander alone.

* * *

Halatia and Galvahex had also gone to view the battle. "So, they've managed to find a way to improve upon my designs with the help of these aliens.", Halatia noted. "Impressive."

Galvahex was intrigued. "But how does this benefit us in the long run? Now the Rangers have become an even more powerful adversary."

"But that only means that they're powerful enough to defeat Uuhcura now.", Halatia assured him. "And with that new type of Mutasect that was used to create that thing, we can become just as powerful as they are. We just have to overthrow the Queen and reclaim our ship."

* * *

And speaking of the Queen and the ship, she was furious at her latest defeat. "How much longer until Kodokor is fully healed, Fwelf?"

"Just 12 hours, your majesty.", was the meek reply.

"Then that is when the Flying Rangers and their new allies will meet their doom."


	16. The Queen's Battle, Part 3

In the hangar bay of the Dominion Mothership, Queen Uuhcura was looking up at her son, Kodokor. "How do you feel, my child?", she asked with her usual faux-sweet tone.

"I'm getting better.", came the reply. "Whatever that little man did to me, it's definitely working." Kodokor spoke of Fwelf, who had injected him with nano-machines in order to repair the damage that the Avions' Falcon Megazord had done to his body with its Cryo-Laser. After almost a day, the damage was next to non-existent. "I'm ready to get out there and crush those Flying Rangers and their friends that did this to me."

"Ah yes, the new challengers.", Uuhcura turned and began musing to herself. "I'm sure now that they're survivors of the planet Avion Minor. I didn't expect there to be any survivors left from that planet. But it's merely a minor nuisance. They will fall, just as other planets have done. And when they do, then I shall invite my allies throughout the universe to this p,a net in order to take their share of its resources." She then transformed into her Berserker Mode. "I'm going to view the destruction of Earth as it happens." She then burst out into laughter, as Fwelf looked on, terrified for his life.

* * *

Down on Earth, Mark and Lulu were walking back to their house, having spent the night in the Nest. They were now discussing the recent developments. "It's lucky that those Avions showed up when they did, or we'd have been done for.", Lulu said. "Not to mention that their robot is about to help ours stick it to the Dominion."

"I'm still not entirely sure I trust them.", Mark said in response.

Lulu was intrigued. "Really? Why's that?"

"Those faces they're showing us? Aluze admitted that they were simply images they're using to make us let our guard down."

"They've been on our side up to now.", Lulu pointed out.

"That may be, but I never trust someone who won't show me their real self. It just strikes me as bad faith." But before Mark could expand on this, hey saw there was a large crowd in the road to their street. The siblings pushed their way through to the front of the crowd, where they saw a soldier on duty. "You've got to let us through. Our home is through there."

The guard, whose uniform identified him as Private Dawson, shook his head. "Sorry, pal. No civilian gets through without a permit from Corporal Jarvis."

Mark held up his ID. "Pilot Officer Goodman, United States Air Force, on loan to Project: Jetman. This kind of incident is up our alley. Now let us through."

"You may be part of Project Gentleman or whatever, but I'm still not letting you through.", Dawson insisted.

But then Corporal Jarvis walked up to the scene in progress. "That's okay, Private. His clearance is all access." Dawson nodded and stood down. Jarvis then turned towards Mark. "Sorry about Dawson, Pilot Goodman. He's a fairly recent transfer to our unit." He then reached out for a handshake, which was reciprocated. "While the existence of Project: Jetman is an official secret, we've been told to recognise your authority in these kinds of situation."

Mark was curious about what he had said. "Perhaps you could show us the situation up close?"

Jarvis obliged, taking the two into the street. Or rather, what constituted the remains of the street, which had been reduced to rubble. "That monster that attacked yesterday destroyed a great number of peoples' homes as it rampaged. As long as these aliens keep attacking us, the insurance companies won't pay for these people. We're probably going to have to relocate a lot of them."

Lulu began to cry. "This shouldn't have happened. We should've been better than this. We should've stopped that thing when it first appeared."

"We're going to stop it when it next appears.", Mark assured her. He then turned towards Jarvis. "Corporal, tell your superiors that we have a way to defeat that creature when it next appears."

"Why not tell us yourself, Pilot Goodman?" Mark turned towards the two newcomers, both of whom were higher ranked than the Corporal. The more senior of the two held out his hand. "Captain Rolfe. This is my aide Sergeant Brent. We heard you mention a plan to defeat that creature."

"This might not be the best place to discuss that, Captain.", Mark replied. "Perhaps we should move this discussion to our headquarters." He began moving in the direction of the Nest, motioning for Lulu to come along.

However she didn't move closer. "I can't come with you.", Lulu blurted out. "I've got friends elsewhere in the city. I need to make sure they're ok." She then began running in a different direction. "I'll be back when the trouble starts again."

Mark merely sighed. "Teenagers, eh? How did any of us get through that period?"

"I personally spent it in a military school getting over my delinquent behaviour.", Sergeant Brent answered, missing the rhetorical part of the question. "Now then Pilot, you were taking us to your base."

* * *

Kodokor stood up, bursting from the equipment attached to him and flying towards the Earth, to continue his rampage.

* * *

Mark led Captain Rolfe, Sergeant Brent, Corporal Jarvis and Private Dawson, among other members of the platoon, into the control room of the Nest. The other Rangers and the Avions, along with Commander Gordon were already in the room. "Now guys, I've brought along some members of the regular military to go over the -." He stopped himself in his track when he saw Mary, or rather, Halatia standing in the middle of the room. "What's SHE doing here?", Mark demanded to know.

"You know this woman?", Brent asked.

"All too well.", came Mark's answer. "She used to be part of our group, but she's been compromised by the enemy."

"An enemy I'm just as much against as you are, Mark.", Halatia interrupted. "Uuhcura may have helped make me into the woman I am today, but she still kidnapped me and subjected me to horrible things that the Captain here could probably imagine easily. I want to be there when she goes down, so I've decided to declare a temporary truce with the Commander here."

"Is this true, Commander Gordon?", the Captain turned towards the older woman.

"I can confirm it is.", came the answer. "While Miss James is still under the effects of the torture inflicted on her by the Dominion, she did offer to help us take down the Queen and Kodokor." Jarvis took notice of her use of this name, but didn't think too much of it. A name had probably come up at one point in their battles.

"I don't really care who's working for who.", Private Dawson interjected. "Can we just get to the part where you explain your big plan to defeat Gokibore, or whatever it's name is?"

Gordon took note of this. "Very well, Private Dawson. We'll proceed to 'share our big plan'." She then gestured for everyone to sit down, except for Wayne and Aluze, who began to present a slideshow.

Wayne began with footage of Kodokor taking down the Icarus. "As you can see from this footage, our attack robot, known as the Icarus, while powerful, didn't have the shielding necessary to take down Kodokor when he first appeared."

The footage transitioned to show the Falcon Corde's arrival and subsequent brawl, as Aluze took over. "At which point me and my comrades took over with our war machine, the Falcon Corde. While we were able to cause damage to him and our armour held in the battle, but we didn't have the strength to land the deathblow."

The slide then changed to a set of schematics for a combination of the two robots. "Which is why, with the help of our new colleagues, we've been working on a combination of the two into a super robot, which we have dubbed the Birdonic."

"Named for our ancient deity of vengeance.", Aluze commented.

It was then that Corporal Jarvis put his hand up. "Excuse me, but just who are these people anyway? We have no records of them on our files."

"That is because we do not officially exist on your planet.", Avior stood up to answer him. "We are the last survivors of the planet Avion Minor, which the same force that threatens your world ravaged."

"We came to this planet to avenge what happened to the rest of our people.", Aluze added.

"If you're aliens," Dawson asked, "why do you look human?"

Gliderak stood up. "This is just a disguise. Our real form is apparently too monstrous for you to trust us, so we have to wear these repulsive faces. Personally, I can't bear to spend another minute looking like this."

"Gliderak!", Avior snapped. "Be mindful of our hosts." Gliderak simply sat down, not satisfied with how that conversation had ended.

Halatia then stood up. "To continue where we left off, when Kodokor is destroyed, Queen Uuhcura will come down to exact a terrible vengeance on this planet." She then generated a hologram of Uuhcura from a device in her hand. "While she uses the staff she carries with her as a conduit, a friend of mine assures me that her main power source is the sapphire on her head. If you destroy that, it'll weaken the Queen to the point that you can finish her with the Rover Launcher."

"What will you be doing until then?", Carrie thought to ask. "We can't exactly trust you to just wait around our base while we go out and defeat Kodokor."

Halatia merely smiled. "Don't worry. The minute that the alarm sounds, I'll be out of here along with you. Then, when you defeat Kodokor, I'll take that as my cue to begin our assault on Uuhcura."

As if on cue, an alarm sounded as Caldwell's voice blurted out over the intercom. "Red alert. Red alert. Kodokor has reappeared in the mountains outside Winter Valley. Rangers, prepare to move out."

"We haven't finished with the modifications to the Falcon Corde.", Aluze said. "We still have to upload our program into the computer bank."

"Don't worry.", Steven assured her. "We'll hold off that thing in the Icarus until you guys get there, or my name isn't Steven Hartford."

Hearing this, Private Dawson cried out in anguish, before running out of the room, head in hands. Everyone decided this wasn't important. "I guess I'll be taking my leave now.", Halatia said. "Don't worry, I won't be telling anyone about this place. Your secret is safe for now." With that said, she teleported out.

"Okay, team.", Mark called out. "Let's get to the Vehicles and move out."

"Roger!", the others responded as they followed him to the hangar.

* * *

Elsewhere, Halatia returned to Galvahex. "They seemed to be in agreement with my plan. All we need to do is get into position." She then activated her sceptre, transforming into her armour. Then she noticed the elephant in the room. "Where did Algrin go?"

"He left this message.", was Galvahex's answer. "'Your plan is foolish, human. I shall take the new robot that appeared and use it to exact revenge against both the Queen and the Flying Rangers. Then I shall use it to make this planet kneel down to me. Muhahaha." The laughter part of the message was particularly monotone.

Halatia growled at this. "The fool. We can't stand a chance of defeating Uuhcura unless the Rangers are able to use that robot. We have to stop him before he does something foolish."

* * *

In the town, Kodokor was once more marching through the streets, leaving destruction in his wake.

* * *

Lulu was nowhere near his, as she continued to look for her friends. "Come on, girls. You can't have gone anywhere outside of town this quickly.", she said to herself. Then, as if fate itself was trying to help her, she saw the two of them being accosted by a pair of muggers. In particular, Matt and Eddie. "Oh no."

"Don't move, pretty ladies.", Matt yelled as he swung his switchblade around. "Just give us everything you have and we'll let you go."

Lila was obviously scared of the situation. "Why are you doing this? We don't have much on us."

"Because of the big demon that appeared and wrecked half the city yesterday.", Eddie answered. "We figured that we might as well take what we can, since the world is doomed anyway."

Lulu couldn't just sit back and watch anymore. "Hey, you two. Back off the girls.", she yelled angrily.

This caused everyone to turn towards her. "Lulu!", Sasha called out. "Get away from here, or they'll go after you two."

"Oh, but I want them to come after me.", she replied in a deliberately cocky tone.

"Ooh, it's not everyday the victims ask to be robbed.", Matt said enthusiastically as he approached his new target. "This'll be the easiest defenceless victim anyone's ever mugged."

Lulu simply smiled almost sadistically. "Oh I'm not going to be defenceless again.", she said thinking back to her childhood encounter with Dolan, the Dominion's advance agent. "Not now, not ever." She then reached for her change bracelet. "Let's Fly!"

With a flash, Lulu morphed into the Blue Ranger and pulled out her Wing Saber. "Your little knife is cute. Want to compare it to mine?"

Matt and Eddie were now terrified. "Nah, we're fine.", Matt said as he dashed off away from the scene.

Eddie was quick to follow. "I think I here my mother calling."

Lila and Sasha were both astonished by what had just happened. "Lulu? What happened to you?"

Lulu then realised that this would get awkward. "I'm sorry, girls. I wanted to tell you about my new job, but I've been sworn to secrecy. All I can say is that you should get out of town soon. It's not safe anymore."

Before the conversation could continue, the Icarus Bomber appeared overhead. The other 4 Rangers were already inside. "Blue, we've got trouble.", Mark radioed. "We need to head out and stop Kodokor."

"Understood.", Lulu radioed in response. "I'm sorry.", she said to her friends before teleporting up to join the rest of her team. The Bomber then flew towards the mountains, transforming into the Megazord along the way.

* * *

At the Nest, the Falcon Corde was preparing to take off. "All systems clear for takeoff.", Aluze announced. "Standby."

**Get Set, Ready? Dashing! Dashing! Dashing!**

"Alright, let's go.", Avior announced as he flipped the ignition.

**Goooo! F-F-F-Falcon!**

However, the Falcon Corde did not make it very far before being shot down by Algrin and crashing into a quarry. "I'll be taking your ship now, Avion scum.", he declared.

"Over my dead body.", Avior said as he moved to attack the exiled Viscount.

"That's the general idea.", Algrin smiled as he cut down his opponent.

"No!", Aluze and Gliderak both called as they went to tend to their injured leader, Algrin took advantage of the distraction to steal the Falcon Corde and fly out towards the battle between the Icarus and Kodokor was taking place. "Oh no, we needed that to win.", Gliderak called out.

"We can't focus on getting it back now.", Aluze insisted. "We need to focus on getting our leader back to health."

"No.", Avior wheezed out. "It's too late for me. But it's not too late for the people of this planet. You need to ensure that the Rangers are able to form the Birdonic Ultrazord."

"I will, Master.", Gliderak nodded, now showing little of his mildly brash nature. He then turned and set off running. "If I'm going to face off against one of the Dominion's top dogs, then I'm going to do so with my own face." He then transformed back into his true appearance, resembling a humanoid bird in a blue space-age suit.

* * *

Meanwhile, Algrin found his way to the battlefield for the Icarus' showdown with the Prince. "An open pasture. The perfect place to bury my enemies. Initiating Falcon Megazord transformation."

**Transfalcon!**

The transformation complete, Algrin then proceeded to attack the Icarus with his new toy.

"What's going on with the Falcon?", Mark asked as the cockpit was buffeted. "You guys do know who your enemy is, don't you?"

"Oh I do, human.", Algrin replied. "I'm merely taking out my minor obstacles before my major ones."

Everyone was shocked to see Algrin in the cockpit. "Where did he come from?", Steven asked.

But no-one had time to answer the question, as the Falcon continued its vicious attack on the Icarus. Uuhcura looked on from the nearby gravel pit. "Well, well. I didn't expect this to happen. Perhaps Algrin would be a good ally to take over the Earth. If he would fall in line."

"I'll start my destruction with Winter Valley.", Algrin gloated. "And then, this entire planet!"

"End of the line, Algrin!", Gliderak called out as he burst into the control room and began a sword fight with the mad Viscount. "I'll keep him busy, you complete the combination.", he called out over the monitor. Sure enough he managed to fight off Algrin for a while, before he got knocked down.

"Fine then, I'll let you have this one, Rangers.", Algrin said. "After all, I've noticed my real enemy is nearby. Real nearby." He then leaped out of the cockpit to face Queen Uuhcura on the ground.

Mark ignored this, instead doing as Gliderak advised them to and commencing their new combination. "Commencing linkup now!"

**Miracle Falcombine!**

**Ultimate Action Shift, On! Hawk Flier! Condor Zoom! Owl Jet! Swan Sonic! Swallow Plane! Falcon Corde! Birdonic Ultrazord! Take Off! Go, go, GO!**

"Where does the Commander come up with these names?", Steven asked.

"Not a clue.", Wayne replied. "I just program the thing."

The Icarus detached it's arms and legs, as the Falcon pulled itself apart. The arms and legs of the two robots connected to each other, as the Hawk component slid into the centre of the Falcon's chest. Then the head of the Avion's mecha slid over the top of the Icarus head to form a helmet.

"Birdonic Ultrazord, assembly complete!", the team all called out, except Lulu. She had gone to check on Gliderak in the corridors of the robot.

"Are you okay?", she asked.

"It'll take a lot more than that to kill me.", he insisted. "Now get back to your team."

The fight against Kodokor then resumed. "Just because you're much bigger now, doesn't mean things will be different."

However, they were drastically different. Kodokor could now do very little to scratch his opponent, which effortlessly walked through the explosions he caused. Even trying to fly into it head first did more damage to Kodokor himself than it did the Ultrazord.

"Wing Cross Shoot!" The Ultrazord fired a beam from its eyes which knocked Kodokor back. "Now then, let's end this thing once and for all.", Mark declared, activating their new finisher. "Black Hole Crusher!"

The Ultrazord fired two spheres of energy, a blue and a red, at Kodokor. Their combined force ended up crushing Kodokor's body until it exploded. "Mother, I'm sorry.", he called out before his death.

* * *

"No!", Uuhcura called out in anger. "Those humans will pay for what they did to my son. All of them will be crushed."

"Indeed, my Queen.", Algrin said as he leaped in. "But not by you. I'll be taking your throne for myself."

The Queen laughed at this. "You are but one man, who failed to take me down before. Where as I can call upon whatever help I want. Now revive, Mutabrid, Kodokor, Betadron!" With a flash from her staff, she revived the hybridised remains of Kuroden and Aobrix, her own son who had just been defeated and the messenger she had used to announce her initial arrival.

"Oh he's not alone." A whip came out and knocked the revived combatants back. Uuhcura looked up to see Halatia and Galvahex. "You've annoyed a lot of the wrong people, Uuhcura. And now we want to join in the revenge."

Then 4 of the 5 Rangers (Wayne was taking the Ultrazord back to base with Gliderak) jumped in to join the battle. "Even if our motives don't exactly align.", Carrie called out.

"You think this makes a difference?", Uuhcura snarled. "I'll merely wipe all of you out at once!" Sure enough, the revivals simply split their focus between the three rogue Dominion commanders, while Uuhcura merely kept the Rangers at bay with her psychic powers. Then Carrie noticed a gem on top of the Queen's head and remembered something Halatia said earlier.

_'…her main power source is the sapphire on her head. If you destroy that, it'll weaken the Queen….'_

Carrie then levelled her Beak Blaster at the Queen's head. "Let's see how tough you are without your sapphire.", she called out as she fired. The blast hit the gem head on, shattering it.

"No!", the Queen called out as the psychic influence wore off and the revived combatants vanished, as did the Queen's staff. Then Galvahex pulled out his Gatling Laser. "You can't attack me, robot! You're programmed to obey orders."

"Yes. Orders from Algrin, not you." Galvahex then wasted no time in firing at the Queen, disorientating her.

Then Wayne returned by way of the Condor Zoom. "Don't leave me out of the fun." He then delivered a flurry of slashes to Uuhcura knocking her even further back and disorientating her significantly.

"Okay, let's finish this.", Mark said. "Rover Launcher!"

**Cannon Mode! Red Black Yellow White Blue Charge! All Charge, Combine! Full Power!**

"This is impossible.", Uuhcura yelled. "I was supposed to take your world. You're not supposed to win!"

"Viva la Revolution.", Mark commented as he pressed the button. "Fire!"

**Maximum Firebird Bombardment!**

The huge fireball hit its target, leaving behind a smoking corpse. "Did we do it?", Lulu asked. "Is she…?"

"Oh she's done for, alright.", Algrin said. He then launched a beam from his hand at the Rangers sending them flying. "Fortunately, I've decided to spare you her fate for now. But our association is hereby concluded. Next time, we will not be so lenient." He then cut open a portal with his sword, through which he, Halatia and Galvahex exited the scene.

* * *

Some time later, the Rangers were escorted by Gliderak to Avior, who had now reverted to his true form and was now visibly weak. "I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do.", Aluze stated. "He doesn't have a lot of time left."

"Don't apologise.", Avior wheezed out. "I'm an old man, I was going to go out anyway, either through natural causes or trying to see my vendetta through to the end. I knew that you and Gliderak would be the future of our species. I want you to live your lives away from this battle, making use of your time."

"We will, Master.", Gliderak said. "To tell the truth, revenge has brought our species nothing but misfortune. We've been lucky so far, but one day, our species will end with us unless we do something." He then took Aluze into his arm and led her away. "Keep the Falcon.", he called back to the Rangers. "It'll be a lot more useful to you then it was to us." With that, he two Avions left, departing for whatever road the wind would take them on.

Avior then took Mark close to him, whispering something to him. "Your Commander isn't being honest with you. Everything she's told you about herself is a lie. That's not even her real face." With that, he let out a harsh breath and his head fell back.

"What is she then?", Mark asked. "Avior, who is she really?"

"Mark, he's gone.", Carrie said solemnly. "I'm not even sure what he was saying had any real basis. Let's go home."

But as they went back to the Nest, Mark thought about what had been said to him. He knew it was the truth, something deep down was telling him that. There was something wrong with Gordon. And he had every intention of finding out what it was.

* * *

That night, Mark led Lulu to the penthouse where his girlfriend Mary lived while on Earth. "Luckily, Mary always said that if I needed to, then I could stay over here. She even gave me my own key."

"Well that was nice of her.", Lulu replied. "Just as it was nice of the Vice-President to promote you to a Flying Officer. Not to mention making the Commander a Group captain. I wish I was in the Air Force for real, so I could get a promotion."

Mark smiled. "Well, it was only right. We did take out one of the enemy's leaders and her trump card. Even if we're a secret organisation, we still have the right to be rewarded every now and again." He then unlocked the door. "We may have put Algrin back in charge of the invasion, but we're definitely stronger now. Whatever he throws at us, we'll keep bouncing back." He then led his sister is die what would be their home for the foreseeable future.

* * *

In deep space, Sir Tann was getting frustrated with the progress of his ship. "How much further to Earth?", he yelled.

"We're still three weeks away from the planet.", Cannant informed him. "We'd be there sooner if we'd chosen a ship with a hyperdrive."

"There weren't any that could house this capacity in our armada." Tann was referring to both the humans that he had taken with him to serve as both a guide and a design team for his new weapon and the grunts that he had taken as security, one of whom came in to the room.

"Sir, we've received news from Earth. Queen Uuhcura is dead, slain by the Flying Rangers.", the grunt blurted out.

"What?", Tann yelled, before developing a smile on his face, which degenerated into laughter. "The Queen is dead. My sister, the Queen, is dead."

Cannant picked up on the point he was making and bowed. "Long live the King!"

* * *

New competition. The next person to post a review gets the chance to name the 4 military characters featured here, as while they are intended to be recurring, i do not have first names for them.


	17. Only A Dream

Fwelf was breathing heavily. He hadn't expected for Queen Uuhcura to be killed today, least of all for his exiled, abandoned and missing comrades to be responsible for the act. "Welcome back, guys.", he said nervously when Algrin, Halatia and Galvahex returned to the ship. "What've you been up to?"

"Squatting around on Earth, waiting for my chance to reclaim power.", Algrin answered, his face unchanging in expression.

Halatia was next to answer. "Plotting revenge for the fact I was subjected to torture all for what was a pointless ruse."

Algrin then pulled out his sword. "Now give me one good reason why you didn't help us in our crusade, before I cut you down where you stand."

Fwelf got down on his knees and began begging for mercy. "Please Master, spare me. If I had acted against the Queen, she would've sensed it and had me destroyed. I was acting under duress."

"Your response…", Algrin put his sword down, "…is satisfactory. However, you still need to redeem yourself."

"Oh I've anticipated that. In fact, thanks to the late Queen, I've managed to find a way to improve our Mutasects into something more powerful. I just need some animal DNA from Earth."

"That's good, but not exactly what I had in mind." Algrin conjured up the burnt out body of Uuhcura. "Can you do something with this?"

Fwelf smiled. "Oh, I'll relish the opportunity, my Lord."

* * *

Down at the Nest, Carrie was reviewing the security footage, when Gordon walked in. "Working overtime, Medical Officer Brown?", the commanding officer asked.

"I'm just doing some investigative work Comman - Group Captain.", Carrie replied, barely remembering that Gordon had received a promotion that same day. "Something about Private Dawson's behaviour earlier has me intrigued. I need to find out where he frequents so I can find out."

"I've had the same concerns.", the Commander said. "Which is why I've taken the liberty of finding out ahead of time. He generally spends his time at the Karaoke Bar 5 miles outside of Winter Valley."

Carrie smiled at this. "It's a start."

* * *

Elsewhere, Mark came to in a dark, featureless void. "This place doesn't look particularly inviting.", he said to himself. "Heck, I don't even remember BEING invited." Then he realised there was nobody else with him. He then went for his communicator, only to find nothing but static and creepy laughter. "Great, it'll probably take hours to find someone."

"Don't be a pessimist, human.", Mark turned around to be greeted by a familiar, but unpleasant surprise. Gaminator, the paper Mutasect. "After all, it only took me a few minutes to find you."

Mark was shocked to see this. "That's impossible. I already beat you." He had a flashback to their previous meeting, in which Mark had beaten the monster senseless for its callousness. "Well, I beat you once, so I'll just have to do it again."

However, when he reached for his bracelet, there was nothing there. "Sorry, Ranger.", Gaminator said. "There's no Morphin' time for you here. In this place, we make the rules." He then launched his tongue at Mark, catching his neck. "I'm sure your friends are discovering that around now as well."

Mark's was shocked to hear this. "My friends! Where are they?" As if on cue, three separate screens appeared, showing images of Lulu, Wayne and Steven in the same situation he was. The only difference was that they were facing Crystallia, Drain Brain and Noodler respectively. And as Gaminator had said, they were also missing their bracelets, which all of them were taking in their own unique way.

"This can't be happening.", Lulu said in a panicked tone of voice. "I am not facing a monster I already defeated. I am not missing my one way out of this." She kept repeating this as Crystallia approached.

"So someone decided to bring you back?", Wayne said to Drain Brain. "The Dominion must really be running out of ideas." He didn't seem to realise or care about the strangeness of the area.

"I may not be able to morph, but I'll still take you down.", Steven cried as he charged at Noodler, which was ultimately futile.

"Welcome to the World of Darkness, human.", Gaminator laughed. "Enjoy your time here, because we're about to ensure it never ends."

* * *

In another part of the world, a mysterious shadowy figure observed the 4 Rangers being attacked. "Good, good. I may not have all 5, but I can still settle for these 4."

* * *

Carrie had found the karaoke bar and was now ordering a drink at the bar. "I'll just take a soda. No sugar.", she specified as the waiter wrote her order down and departed. She then started looking around for her target. "Now then, if I were an army private, where would I choose to sit?"

Before she could think of an answer, she saw Dawson heading towards her. "You were at the meeting for the plan to destroy that alien, right?", he said. "You're one of those Flying Rangers."

Carrie sighed and held out her hand. "Medical Officer Caroline Brown, at your service Private."

"Nice to meet you. Now would you mind telling me what you're doing at my frequent haunt?"

"As a matter of fact, it's about the meeting.", Carrie answered him. "I noticed how weird you acted when my friend said his name: Steven Hartford. What I'd like to know is why you reacted so strongly to his name."

At this, Dawson pulled away. "Look, Brown. If you're here to probe into my private affairs, don't expect me to tell you much." He then made his way back to a lady friend sitting at a table.

Carrie then seized upon and idea and stopped him in his tracks. "Since we're at a karaoke bar, how about this? If you can sing better than me, I'll get off your case. But if you get bested by me, then I get to know what I want to know."

Dawson smiled at this. "Ok then, may the best performer win."

* * *

Back in the World of Darkness, Mark was still grappling with Gaminator. "Give it up, Ranger. You'll never break free of my grip, you'll never help your friends and none of you will find your way out."

"Are you so sure?", Mark said, allowing Gaminator to pull him closer and using the opportunity to deliver a kick to his chest. This disoriented Gaminator enough for Mark to get free. "Guys!", he yelled at his friends, who fortunately reacted. "Don't let them win, do what you can to fight them off and get away."

"Thanks for the advice.", Lulu nodded as she began trying to fight back at Crystallia. While there was a marked difference in their sheer strength, Lulu was able to use her opponent's strength against her.

Wayne tutted. "What do you think I was trying to do, Goodman?" He then proceeded to deliver a flurry of punches to Drain Brain, which took him down.

Finally, Steven noticed that Noodler had a glaring weakness that was easily exploited. "Let's hope this works." He knocked the monster down by knocking its legs down, causing it to fall on its back.

* * *

With all 4 opponents defeated, the 4 Rangers were all teleported to the same location. "Okay, does anyone know how we got here in the first place?", Steven asked.

"Last thing I remember, I was falling asleep.", Lulu said in response. "Let me tell you, this was not what I expected from my first night in a new bed."

Wayne was next to answer. "I was working at my desk and I began to feel slightly drowsy." He hen clicked his fingers. "That's it! This is all a dream. We fell asleep and ended up in a word of nightmares."

"And we all happen to have the same dream through, I don't know, telepathy?", Mark asked. "There's got to be more to it than that. Someone or something must be pulling us here."

A light appeared in the Sky, which attracted the attention of everyone. A voice came from the light. "Bravo, you're getting close to figuring out the truth behind this all. All you need to do is figure out the culprit."

"Does anyone else get a sense of deja vu from that voice?", Lulu asked. "There's definitely something familiar about it."

"And I know it all too well.", Wayne said, some venom present in his voice. "It's that prediction monster that tried to kill Carrie a while ago."

Sure enough, the light dissipated, revealing Predictra's human disguise. "Well, that didn't take you long at all. No wonder you were able to defeat me and my comrades so easily before. They're all as dumb as a post."

"I thought we blew you to smithereens.", Mark said, annoyed by the presence of another seemingly revived Mutasect.

"My body, yes.", Predictra said in response. "But my spiritual energy allowed me to continue on in a disembodied form. I've been spending the time generating enough energy to manifest my friends in this plane along with myself. Then I waited for you all to fall asleep, so I could trap you within my World of Darkness. In a way, I should thank you. By destroying my physical body, you allowed me to become more powerful." She then summoned back the 4 monsters that she had summoned to serve her.

"Even in a dream world, we're going to stop you.", Steven said defiantly.

Predictra laughed at this. "You don't even have your powers in this world. How can your future end in anything other than doom?"

"Well, my horscope said I was due to have good luck today.", Lulu responded. Wayne wasn't sure if she was serious or joking, given that he hadn't actually read today's horoscope, nor was he aware of how avid a reader Lulu was.

"Even without powers, we'll still take you all on.", Mark cried out as he charged into battle with the spirit Mutasects. The others followed soon after.

* * *

Back in the karaoke bar, the machine had finally been freed up enough for Dawson and Carrie to have heir competition. Dawson had brought his lad friend up to perform with him, for reasons that were initially unclear. However, once they began their act, Carrie could see why. Dawson was not a good singer, with the eye candy basically just there to make him look better by comparison. Nonetheless, Carrie had to sit and wait as they butchered their current number.

"I've got chiiillssss, they're multiplying. And I'm losing control. There's a power, you're supplying. It's electrifying."

"You'd better shape up. 'Cause I need a man. To my heart I must be true."

As soon as their awful performance was over, Dawson and his bimbo sat down next to Carrie, as he flirtatiously slapped her on the back. "You're up, darling.", he said. Try not to screw up too badly."

Carrie, clearly not pleased with his statements, went up to the man operating the machine. "Do you have anything from Japan?", she asked. She figured the best way to win over the crowd was to sing something foreign, since most of them would register it as "cooler". Plus it would show that chauvinist hack what a real singer could do.

"As a matter of fact, I have a few.", the man replied. Carrie went over his collection, before settling on one that seemed easy. She then went to stand on the stage as the crowd calmed down from the last performance.

"Ladies and gentleman. And Private Dawson.", she said into the mike. "I'm going to be performing a piece from the country my mother's family came from." She then started doing slight dance movements as the music pumped up. " Hitomi no oku ni moeru honoo. Supaaku shitara tomaranai wa…."

* * *

Back in the other dimension, Mark and his friends were still struggling against their revived opponents. "Give it up, Rangers.", Predictra laughed. "You're in a world of dreams, where the rules of reality don't apply. You don't have your powers here."

"You may be right there.", Mark admitted. "But you're forgetting one thing. In a dream, the dreamer makes the rules!" He then let out a heroic cry, which summoned his bracelet onto his wrist. "All I need to do is believe in myself." He then pressed his bracelet, calling out "Let's Fly!" Then through the power of his sheer will, Mark was morphed into the Red Ranger. The others soon followed suit, calling upon their powers to manifest and morphing into their Ranger identities, but not before Mark had already taken a beating from the four Mutasects.

"How are you able to morph? This is impossible!", Gaminator cried out.

"Like my brother said, this is a world of our design.", Lulu said in response. "And we decided to redesign the rules to fit our liking."

Predictra was not happy to see this. "Get them, my soldiers."

But before any of them could attack, Mark and Wayne decided to simply assemble their Hyper Cannons, with Steven and Lulu doing likewise. "Fire!" The Rangers all fired their beams, surrounding the 4 monster in smoke.

Predictra decided to dissipate into energy. "Let's see how weak these monsters are with my power." The energy became invisible, as the smoke cleared to reveal that Crystallia, Drain Brain, Noodler and Gaminator were now giant sized.

"They can still go big in this world.", Steven asked.

"If that's the case, the we'll just pull out our big guns.", Mark said, as he spoke into his communicator. "Falcon Corde!"

Wayne did likewise with his. "Icarus Megazord!"

The two robots appeared in the dreamscape, with two rangers going in each. Mark and Lulu went inside the Falcon. "Falcon Megazord, online!"

Wayne and Steven manned the Icarus. "Icarus Megazord, online!"

The two robots began battling their 4 opponents. The two began by going after Crystallia and Gaminator, with the Falcon executing a series of flips to land hits. The Icarus then went after Noodler and Drain Brain, delivering slashes and an impaling attack on Drain Brain that knocked them down.

"Scratch Break!" The Falcon used its claws to cut through Crystallia's body.

"Icarus Slash!" The Icarus then performed its usual finisher on Gaminator. The two Mutasects collapsed and exploded, now vanquished for good.

"You think you're so great.", Predictra's voice echoed. "Well let's see how you handle this." Noodler and Drain Brain turned into balls of light, which entered the Icarus and rendered Wayne and Steven unconscious. (This has the effect of the two waking up in reality, much to their concern.)

It's pilots now gone from the dream world, the Icarus came to life under the control of Predictra's phantoms and launched its attacks on the Falcon, eventually knocking it to the floor. The possessed robot then prepared to land the finishing blow.

"We're not done yet.", Mark called out. He had the Falcon move out of the way at the last second and fire a beam at a nearby reflective surface. The beam redirected at the Icarus, damaging it and exorcising the two monsters. "Now let's not have that happen again." The two began entering their combination code.

**Miracle Falcombine!**

**Ultimate Action Shift, On! Hawk Flier! Condor Zoom! Owl Jet! Swan Sonic! Swallow Plane! Falcon Corde! Birdonic Ultrazord! Take Off! Go, Go, GO!**

Now assembled, the Ultrazord then began beating down the two monsters. "Let's finish these freaks again.", Lulu declared. "Black Hole Crusher!" The twin beam surrounded Noodler and Drain Brain, crushing their souls into nothingness. "Can we go home now?"

"Well since this is a dream, all we have to do is wake up."

* * *

Back in the karaoke bar, Carrie and Dawsons' contest had come to an end. The applause-o-meter had registered that Carrie was the clear winner here. "Well, I admit defeat.", Dawson said. "Ask whatever you want of me."

"Ok then.", Carrie prepared to ask her question. "What about the name "Steven Hartford" gets you so upset?"

"Steven Hartford was my best friend. He and I joined up to fight overseas at the same time. He pushed me out of the way of a land mine and well…." Dawson then pulled out a photo of himself with another man. "Whoever your friend is, he's NOT Steven Hartford."

Sure enough, the other man in the picture looked totally different from the man Carrie had been looking after for two years. He was skinnier, blonder and more importantly, Caucasian. "My friend only knew his name from the dog tags they found him with.", Carrie mused. "But how did he end up at a minefield post-explosion?" Carrie realised that this wasn't going to be easily solved anytime soon.

* * *

Back on the Dominion ship, Fwelf walked into Algrin's quarters. He had already cleaned out all traces of the late Queen's prior residence in the room. "Thanks to that body you gave me, I've created a new wave of super-soldiers. We won't be needing the Bio-Roids any more. And Princess Halatia is going out to collect the animal DNA for our Hybrasect experiments."

"I trust you didn't come in here simply to give a newspaper sales pitch.", Algrin said in response.

"Oh no, I've brought you this, my Lord." Fwelf held out a flask of a bubbling liquid. "I derived this from the Queen's blood. It should stabilise your Berserker Mode, meaning that you can maintain the transformation without tiring out."

Algrin smiled. "Give it to me." Fwelf obliged, with Algrin subsequently taking a large swing of the broth. After downing the complete contents, he dropped the flask, convulsing until he transformed into his Berserker Mode. Only this felt more powerful than his main form, as it should do. "Oh yes. This feels so right.", he declared with a thunderous voice.


	18. A Shadow of a Doubt

It was the morning after the defeat of Kodokor and Mark and Lulu were sitting down to breakfast at Lowfall Apartments, now their temporary residence until the insurance company payed up, which they said they wouldn't do until the monster attacks stopped. Hey were greeted halfway through their meal by Leroy, the manager. "I trust you're enjoying your stay here, Mr. Goodman."

"Indeed we are, Leroy.", Mark answered him. "It was nice of you to let me stay in Miss James' apartment while she's…" he briefly paused, thinking of a reasonable description that wouldn't give too much away "on her trip."

"Hey it's the least I could do.", Leroy smiled. "You show up to this place so often you're practically my best customer. By the way, you've got a phone call."

Mark raised his eyebrows. "A phone call? Who from?"

"Some lady named "Brown". She said she wanted you and your sister to meet her at the park as soon as possible." Leroy then leaned in to a whisper. "This wouldn't have anything to do with your job saving the world, would it?"

Mark was shocked to hear this, but he did compose himself and pull Lulu up with him. "Well, wed better respond to that phone call quickly. We'll talk again, Leroy."

"But I'm not finished.", Lulu complained.

"You are now.", Mark insisted as he pulled her out of the mess hall and back into their apartment. "How did Leroy find out about what we do?", he asked her. "After all, we aren't supposed to tell anyone under any circumstance."

Lulu had a realisation. "I maybe saw some friends of mine being attacked by looters yesterday. I decided to save them and in the heat of the moment, I may have overlooked that rule."

Mark sighed in exasperation. "That Lila. I've told you that she's not dependable, yet you've still hung out with her. But we can't dwell on it now. Let's see what Carrie wants to tell us."

* * *

Up on the Dominion ship, Halatia was showing off a Hybrasect to the other commanders. "Thanks to the notes provided to me by Fwelf, and the animal DNA samples I spent the night collecting, I have created the first of the new Hybrasects."

"Excellent.", Algrin smiled. "I shall take it out and destroy the Flying Rangers." He reaches out to grab it, but Halatia snatched it away.

"No you won't.", the female commander said sternly. "If we're going to beat Mark and the others, we need to do it through intelligent planning, not slashing and stabbing in hope of results." Halatia didn't say it, but she was still annoyed at Algrin for almost messing up their plan to dethrone Uuhcura.

Algrin recognised the insult and thrust his sword forward to cut down the faux-Princess. After all, there was no longer any need to keep her and killing her would probably make a difference against the Rangers. However, his sword was stopped in its tracks by Galvahex. "Be mindful of who you antagonise, my Lord. Without Halatia, you would still be trapped on Earth, living a life of exile.

Algrin conceded that the robot had a point and put his blade away. However, Halatia noticed that the sword had penetrated Galvahex's robotic hide, drawing motor oil. "Here let me help you.", she said as she went over and bandaged the damage with a cloth.

Galvahex was intrigued as to the cloth's sudden presence, since Halatia had never had it when he had attacked the Garuda. "Where did you acquire this fabric? You never had it prior to now."

Halatia thought back to how she - or rather, Mary - had acquired the cloth.

* * *

_5 years ago._

_Mary James was not having a good day. Not only was she running late on her first day of College, but she had run into a gang of thugs while taking a detour through a back alley. "Look guys, I don't want any trouble. How about you just let me go and we'll forget the whole thing?"_

_"Oh no.", the gang leader said, giggling like a hyena. "You don't understand. People who enter our territory don't come out without some reminder. And since you're a lady, I've got a special reminder in mind." This caused Mary to scream._

_"Leave her alone.", a quiet voice called out from across the alley. Everyone looked up to see a young man, about Mary's age standing there, his arms crossed. "If you know what's good for you, you'll do as she asks and let her go."_

_"Ooooh, someone's trying to play a hero.", the gang leader laughed. He then went up to the newcomer. "Listen here, man. You're also trespassing on our turf, so don't think we'll be more -."_

_But the gang leader was stopped by his target, who proceeded to lead a brutal beat down on him. The other gang members tried to avenge their boss, only to meet the same fate. "Now then, what are you going to do with this young woman?"_

_"We're going to leave her alone.", the gang leader said nervously, before he and his cronies bolted from the area._

_Mary went towards her saviour. "Thanks for that. They were going to show no mercy." But as she ran towards him, she tripped and grazed her leg._

_The other man promptly took out a cloth to tend to the injury. "Here you might as well use this. I'm not really going to have much need for it.", he said as he wrapped it around her leg._

_Mary smiled at this. "You've saved me twice in about 45 seconds. How can I repay you?"_

_"You'll have to do it another time.", the man got up and began moving. "I'm already going to be late for my first class at WV College."_

_Mary perked up. "Hey, I'm going to start there today too. I'm doing an Applied Physics course." Hen she had a realisation. "How do I find you again?"_

_"Just go to the student dorms. I'm living there for this year. I'm under the name 'Mark Goodman'."_

_Mary smiled again as she waved. "Ok then. I'll see you around, Mark Goodman."_

* * *

"It's nothing.", Halatia assured Galvahex. "Just a souvenir I picked up from my stay on Earth." As she walked off to use the Hybrasect, she managed to say. "Why don't you see if the new U-Clones work in the field?"

Fwelf nodded. "Right away." He summoned up a screen and saw Wayne out in a street, tending to his Jet Cycle. "I think I've got the perfect test subject."

* * *

Down on Earth, Wayne had finished up with his modifications. "If this works, then I can really get an edge in combat with you now." He moved a few feet away and held his communicator to his mouth. But before he could say anything, he was surrounded by multiple opponents. They all resembled Queen Uuhcura's Berserker Mode, only more feral and lacking the gem on the forehead. "I thought just one of her was tough.", Wayne commented. "Well, I already beat one of these things, so a few more shouldn't be hard."

However, Wayne soon found himself outmatched. The U-Clones' thick hide and large bulk made them impervious to almost everything thrown at them. Plus their sheer strength was enough for one of them to overwhelm an unmorphed Wayne.

"Maybe this will actually be a challenge.", Wayne realised. He then morphed into the Black Ranger and began to have more success. "I guess this means I won't be fighting out of the suit as much if they've got these things." After knocking the U-Clones back a few feet, he pulled out his weapons and assembled his Hyper Cannon. "If these things are cloned from a monster, then I can take them out the same as a monster." Sure enough, the Hyper Cannon sent the U-Clones up in flames. As he detransformed, he realised something important that he had forgotten. "I was supposed to meet with the others in the park." He then leapt onto his bike and drove off towards the park.

* * *

Meanwhile, Halatia was in another park. A baseball park, where she was looking at one of the overhead lights. "Ah, perfect for my latest plan." She then sent the Hybrasect flying towards the light. "Now with the resilience of an armadillo and the shadow-controlling properties of a light, a new creature will be born. Come forth, Lumidillo!"

The infected light turned into a flash of energy which flew to the ground as it assumed its new form. His form was a humanoid armadillo with a light in his chest. Unlike their predecessors, Hybrasects had their bugs stored on the inside of their organic membranes. "At your service.", Lumidillo said in a scratchy voice.

* * *

In the park, Mark and Lulu met up with Carrie and Steven. "Do we have to discuss this out in the open?", Mark said, exasperated. "Wouldn't the base be a more secure location?"

"I don't think it would.", Carrie said in response. "I'm starting to think that Avior was right when he said not to trust the Group captain."

Lulu was confused by this. "What's brought about this change of mind?"

"I did some investigation into Steven's past last night. I found out that whoever our friend is, he isn't Steven Hartford."

"What?", everyone said in unison.

Steven was more confused than the others. "But I saw my name on my dog tags."

"On A SET OF dog tags.", Carrie pointed out. "According to our friend Private Dawson, Steven Hartford was blown up in the exact same area where we found you. When I tried to verify this, I found that our Steven's records had been faked. There were no references or past history and multiple grammatical errors."

"But who would create a fake record simply for one man.", Lulu asked.

"I wondered that myself. When I checked to see who had created the record, guess who turned out to be responsible for it."

"Group captain June Gordon.", Mark said, with zero emotion in his voice. Something had been telling him as much and now seemed to be the time to voice those suspicions.

The sound of clapping filled the air. "Bravo Mark. I can see why they made you a Flying Officer." Everyone turned around to see Halatia approaching them, accompanied by Lumidillo. "Oh and Corporal Hartford, I wouldn't get too upset about having your life faked for you. I had mine faked and look how I turned out."

"Halatia", Mark said vindictively. "And a Mutasect."

"It doesn't seem like a normal Mutasect though.", Lulu realised.

"Pfft. Mutasects are so last month.", the monster declared. "I'm a Hybrasect, half animal, half object."

"Great. Just great.", Steven groaned. "First we have this faked ID business and now there's a new type of bugs that make a new type of monsters. Is it too much to ask for a regular day?"

"Unfortunately it is.", Carrie replied. "How about we see just how much worse a Hybrasect is than a Mutasect."

Everyone stepped forward and pressed their bracelets. "Let's Fly!"

"Now.", Halatia called after they'd finished morphing. Lumidillo blasted the 4 Rangers with his light, causing entirely black duplicates of them to appear facing exactly opposite to them. "Good, now we only need to create a Darkness copy of the Black Ranger."

"What just happened?", Mark said as the 4 stepped backwards, an action mimicked by their doppelgängers.

"I knew you wanted to bring us back together, Mark.", came Halatia's reply. "So I decided to create a Hybrasect monster with the ability to make a copy of you, on my side. And while I was at it, I thought 'Why not get all the Rangers copied as our allies?'."

"Except my Darkness Rangers are much stronger than the originals.", Lumidillo gloated. "In fact, they'll soon be stronger by a long shot." He burst into maniacal laughter.

All 4 Rangers did their pre-battle poses, which were mimicked exactly by their Darkness copies. "Let's just take these knockoffs down.", Steven declared as he ran into battle, with Darkness Yellow doing likewise. However, their perfect synchronisation only led to both taking each other down at the same time. "Even our moves are the same."

The other Rangers also attacked their counterparts, with equal lack of success. Carrie's decision to try sword fighting for a change, Lulu's acrobatics fighting style and Mark's defensive-offensive style were all matched step for step. "This isn't working, we need to try a different tact.", Mark suggested.

"Maybe we should try attacking different targets to our doubles.", Carrie suggested.

And the two did exactly that, launching consecutive kicks at the Darkness copies of Steven and Lulu. While it knocked the two down, the real versions flew back as well. "What just happened?", Lulu asked. "Nobody hit us, but we still felt pain."

"It seems that we take the same damage as our duplicates.", Carrie realised. "But why didn't the other duplicates attack you two?"

**_"Because we knew that letting our allies take the hit would hurt your friends."_**, came a new voice. It sounded like Carrie's but it was deeper and sounded distorted.

**_"You fell for our trap hook, line and sinker."_**, this voice was an evil version of Mark's.

"What's going on?", Lulu asked, now terrified. "I thought these guys were just miming us."

**_"We were at first."_**, her copy said in response.**_ "But we've grown beyond being your shadows."_**

**_"And now we've become capable of existing without being tethered to you."_**, Steven's copy said.

Then, the four Darkness copies developed coloured highlights, which made them resemble the real versions more. The main difference was that they retained the black colouration, with some highlights on their helmets. The 4 Darkness Rangers then repeated their poses, now with added words.

**_"Red Dark!"_**

**_"Evil Yellow!"_**

**_"Dark White!"_**

**_"Blue Darkness!"_**

The 4 Rangers were shocked, but quickly regained their composure. "Let's finish these fakes off quickly."

But before they could do anything, the Darkness Rangers pulled out their weapons. **_"Black Blasters! Schwarz Sabers!"_** They then put their weapons together like the Hyper Cannons. **_"Dark Cannons!"_** They then pointed and fired their weapons at the real Rangers, knocking them down.

"I want in on this too.", Lumidillo called out. He turned himself into a ball and crashed into the Rangers, disorientating them further.

Mark reached for his communicator. "Rover Launcher!", he wheezed out. The vehicle drove across the plains as it jumped into view.

**Cannon Mode! Red Yellow White Blue Charge!**

The Rangers aimed it at Halatia and the Darkness Rangers. "This might just be our easiest fight ever.", Steven commented.

**Cubic Firebird Impact!**

"Oh no, you don't!", Lumidillo called out, jumping into the way of the blast and absorbing it with his shell. "They don't call us "armadillos for nothing.", he commented.

It was then that Wayne leapt in and attacked Lumidillo, knocking him back. "I must be seeing double. Since when were there 16 of you?", he commented towards his teammates.

"And he calls my jokes bad.", Lulu said, folding her arms.

"Hey, I can actually complete my task and get all 5 Rangers copies at once.", Lumidillo realised. But before he could do so, a set of clouds covered up the sun, which caused the Darkness Rangers to vanish in a flash. "Oh no, I can't work without total sunlight." He then teleported away rather than continuing the battle.

Halatia was also unhappy. "We'll finish this later.", she said before vanishing.

The other Rangers, no longer under constant threat of death, now got up and powered down. "Where the hell have you been?", Mark yelled at Wayne. "We could've used you earlier."

"As it happens, Goodman, I got caught up battling some new mooks from the Dominion. They're clones of the late Queen Uuhcura."

"So our enemy now has new monsters and new mooks.", Carrie mused. "We should return to the Nest and discuss this."

* * *

"…so that's all we've found out about our new opponents.", Steven finished explaining to the Commander. None of them had brought up the elephant in the room regarding their Yellow Ranger, namely because it wasn't relevant, and because it was still something that Mark and Carrie felt should be investigated privately.

"This is severely dire.", the Group captain mused. "We thought that defeating their Queen would leave the enemy weakened. Instead, it seems to have only made them stronger. This new Hybrasect could pose a problem."

"Well I don't really see a high threat level coming from a monster who can only create clones.", Mark said.

"Especially clones that vanish when there's no direct sunlight.", Carrie added.

"The threat is that while they may deactivate in darkness, they still exist as long as that armadillo is alive. You need to find and destroy him while the copies are dormant."

"I'll do it.", Wayne volunteered. "He'll be looking for me anyway and I know his weak point."

Gordon put her foot down at this. "No. It's too dangerous to go out there on your own."

"Well it's dangerous for us as well.", Mark pointed out. "The more injuries those fakes sustain, the more injuries we gain. Like it or lump it, Wayne is the only one of us that isn't a risk at this point in time."

Gordon sighed at this. "Ok then. Dr. Burley will head out to deal with the threat while the others stay here."

"Thank you, Comman - Captain. You won't regret this." With that said, Wayne went to his Jet Cycle and sped off into the night.

* * *

That same night, Halatia was standing on top of the tallest building in the city. "If Lumidillo wants to wait for the daylight to destroy the Rangers, then I'll just bring the daylight to him. She aimed her sceptre at the sky and fired a beam upwards. The beam surrounded the whole town, displacing it twelve hours into the future and restoring the daylight. This caused the townsfolk (or what was left of them after multiple monster attacks) to look up at it with surprise. One drunk actually celebrated the event, since he was technically getting the day off. In a plaza, the 4 Darkness Rangers reappeared, ready to commence their battle once more.

* * *

Down in the city, Wayne also noticed this sudden daybreak. "This isn't right. It's still half-eleven in the evening. The sun isn't due up for another few hours."

Before he had time to rationalise it, he was kicked off his bike by Red Dark._** "We've been looking for you, Black Ranger."**_

**_"Now we can complete our team lineup."_**, Dark White added.

"Tempting.", Wayne replied sarcastically. "But I'm going to have to decline your offer." He then morphed into the Black Ranger and began fighting the Darkness Rangers. "I can't drag this out, or I risk seriously hurting the others." He initially managed to fight off all 4 of them with little more than his Wing Saber, but then Evil Yellow and Dark White managed to break his focus with simultaneous slashes from their Schwarz Sabers, before Red Dark and Blue Darkness grabbed the Black Ranger and led him to Lumidillo, who was standing across the park from the fight.

"I'm about to be 5 for 5 on copies.", the Hybrasect gloated. "Not bad for a day's work."

"Are you sure you want to do this?", Wayne asked. "I mean, I'm already mostly black. Creating a Darkness copy would just be redundant."

But Lumidillo still moved forward, until he was hit by a shot from above. "What was that?"

"I'd like to know as well.", Wayne said as he looked up. It was the other 4 Rangers, fully morphed and dropping down from the sky. Hey promptly engaged their duplicates in battle. "What happened to 'its dangerous for us as well'?"

"That's what we thought.", Steven called out as he wrestled his doppelgänger.

Mark carried on the sentence. "But then we realised that we weren't feeling any pain from your battle with these fakes."

"So we decided to do something about them.", Lulu continued as she tackled her imposter to the ground.

"We hold off our doubles here.…", Carrie struggled with her counterpart.

"While you find Halatia and stop whatever she's doing to the time.", Steven concluded.

"What're you waiting for?", Mark asked as he held off Red Dark. "Get moving."

"Okay.", Wayne said, pumping his fist. "Just stay safe.", he called out before heading off on his Jet Cycle.

**_"So now the gang's all here."_**, Red Dark exclaimed. He then turned towards Lumidillo. **_"You find and head off the Black Ranger. Leave our inferior prototypes to us."_**

"Since when did you become the boss.", Lumidillo complained. "But I do like your plan." He then left the area, trying to head off Wayne in his tracks.

**_"Looks like it's just us and our inferior lookalikes."_**, Blue Darkness commented.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing.", Lulu retorted.

* * *

Elsewhere, Wayne had found Halatia on top of a skyscraper, using her sceptre to maintain the daylight. "Well, if it isn't Mark's crazy ex.", he commented to no-one in particular. He then pulled out and readied his Wing Saber. "Nothing personal, it's just business." He then began running towards her, eating out a battle cry in the process.

However, just before he could bring it down on her, Galvahex appeared and blocked the hit. He then punched Wayne back a few feet. "I won't allow you to hurt her, Wayne Burley.", the robot declared as he stepped forward.

"Really?", Halatia whispered, surprised at Galvahex's chivalry.

"Talk about a case of Lima Syndrome.", Wayne commented before he engaged his new arrival in battle. In spite of Galvahex having a bandaged arm from earlier, Wayne still found himself facing a tough opponent. While he did manage to get a hit in, Galvahex got a lot more in, eventually grabbing his opponent by the weapon and throwing him around.

"Let's take this elsewhere.", Galvahex exclaimed as he threw Wayne into the air, shooting him with his arm cannon in the process. As the Black Ranger fell to the ground, Galvahex jumped down after him to continue the fight.

* * *

Elsewhere, the Rangers were still fighting their doubles, with Carrie eventually getting tired of it. "Let's just get this over with.", she said, assembling her Hyper Cannon and firing it at Dark White, which destroyed her. "Phew, that's better."

**_"No!"_**, Blue Darkness exclaimed in reaction to the loss of her comrade. **_"You'll pay for that, White Ranger."_**, she growled as she abandoned her fight with Lulu to avenge her comrade.

"You're open.", Lulu exclaimed as she stabbed her copy in the back. "Now Carrie, fire again."

"You don't have to tell me twice.", Carrie said in response. She then fired her Cannon again, destroying a second Darkness Ranger.

Seeing this, both teams decided to regroup.**_ "They're making too much progress."_**, Evil Yellow complained. **_"We've lost two of our team and there are two of us left."_**

**_"We can't let them beat us."_**, Red Dark exclaimed, clenching his fist.

"Oh boys." Both Darkness Rangers turned around to see that the real Rangers had summoned the Rover Launcher. "Maybe you should spend less time planning and more time doing.", Mark said as he pressed the fire button.

**Cubic Firebird Impact!**

The blast hit its targets this time, destroying Evil Yellow and injuring Red Dark. "Three down, one to go.", Steven commented as the 4 ganged up on the last of the Darkness Rangers.

* * *

Elsewhere, Wayne was thrown against the wall, during which he got a good view of a nearby clock. "Ten to midnight. I've got to end this soon.", he said.

However, Galvahex was unrelenting in his attacks, throwing Wayne elsewhere and shooting at him with his Gatling Blaster. "Don't you realise it yet, human?", the robot taunted. "Our battles have made me invincible. There is nothing you have on you that can damage me anymore."

"Maybe not on me.", Wayne wheezed out. "But I probably have something." He spoke into his communicator. "Jet Cycle, come closer!" The bike obeyed, ramming into Galvahex and sending him flying. He then got up and assembled his Hyper Cannon, aiming it at Halatia. "Sorry about this, Mary. I hope you'll forgive me."

He fired his weapon at the brainwashed head technician of Space Station Garuda, but Galvahex leaped up and blocked the shot. However it had the desired effect of breaking her concentration. The daylight spell wore off, with the night sky returning to its rightful place.

* * *

Elsewhere, Red Dark stumbled about, before disappearing completely. "I think that's the last we'll see of him.", Steven commented.

"We need to make sure of that.", Mark replied. "Let's track down Lumidillo and put an end to him."

* * *

Speaking of Lumidillo, he had caught up to Wayne, who was now exhausted from fighting with Galvahex. "You've ruined everything.", he yelled at the Ranger. He then knocked the Black Ranger down and held him in place. "Since you destroyed my plans, I'll destroy you."

But before he could do anything worse, the other Rangers arrived and shot him off their friend. "Talk about the nick of time.", Wayne commented as he got up.

"We're not done yet.", Mark told him. "We need to exterminate this shrew first."

The Rover Launcher once more flew down and landed in the arms of the 5 Rangers.

**Red Black Yellow White Blue Charge! All Charge, Combine! Full Power!**

"Perhaps we can talk.", Lumidillo said, changing his tact. "That whole 'making Darkness copies of you guys', that was a joke."

"If that was a joke, then here's the punchline.", Mark said as he once more pressed the fire button.

**Maximum Firebird Bombardment!**

The fireball hit Lumidillo, destroying his body. But the Hybrasect within survived, using the flames of its body's destruction to reconstitute as a giant. "Now let's see how bright I can really get."

"New monsters, same old tricks.", Carrie commented.

"But we have a new toy to play with.", Mark said in response. "Falcon Corde!"

**F-F-F-Falcon!**

The giant spaceship appeared and beamed the 5 Rangers aboard. "Transform to Megazord mode, now."

**Transfalcon!**

The Falcon Megazord now stood in front of Lumidillo, who fired a beam at it. However, the Falcon dodged and continued fighting. Despite the Hybrasect using his ball form to get in some good hits, the Falcon withstood all of them. "Avion Maser!" The Falcon then fired its chest beam, which knocked Lumidillo down.

"Ow, that hurt.", Lumidillo complained.

"If you thought that was bad, try this on for size.", Mark said, preparing the final attack. "Scratch Break!"

The Falcon then leaped into the air and slashed at Lumidillo with its claws, vanquishing him for good.

"Can we go home now?", Lulu complained. "It's getting late and I'm probably up way past my bedtime."

"Agreed.", Carrie nodded. "We could all do with the sleep, after this incident."

* * *

Aboard the ship, Galvahex placed Halatia down. "This was too desperate a manoeuvre. You were almost killed.", he said to her unconscious form. "You may be a false persona, but that doesn't give you any reason to risk your existence pointlessly."

As if on cue, the woman awakened. But Galvahex sensed something different about her. That this wasn't Halatia. "Where am I?", she asked. "I'm not back on that awful ship again, am I?" And then Galvahex realised what had happened.


	19. Stuck in the Middle

The 5 Rangers drove on to the scene at the dockyards, where reports of a monster had come in. "Keep your eye out for anything that shouldn't be here.", Mark told the others.

"You mean like me?", a new voice called out. Everyone turned around to see a humanoid cockroach covered in tubes of glue. "They call me Stickroach. So you're the famous Flying Rangers I was told by Fwelf to get rid of. Let's see how you stand up to my super glue." Stickroach then fired a stream of glue from his mouth, which caused everyone to jump off their vehicles to avoid it. The Rover Launcher ended up getting the full brunt of it, eventually being covered totally in a strong glue-like substance that held it in place. Mark then tried engaging the Hybrasect in battle, only to be knocked down. "Wow, I didn't think the Red Ranger would be a pushover."

"Then let's see how you do against the Black Ranger.", Wayne called out as he jumped in to stab Stickroach with his Wing Saber. However, the oversized bug simply moved out of the way at incredible speed, doing likewise for all other attempts Wayne made to attack."

"I'm doing pretty well against you, Slowpoke.", Stickroach mocked.

"Let's see how you do against 3 of us.", Lulu called out as she ran in with Carrie and Steven. However, the Hybrasect managed to grab onto the White Ranger and throw her to one side.

"Now you've made me mad.", Carrie said, going for her Beak Blaster. Her two comrades did likewise, with all 3 aiming at Stickroach and firing. However, he once more zoomed out of the way and used a crate as a jumping pad to attack the three of them."

"Nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh.", Stickroach taunted as he once more zoomed away and began climbing up a girder. "You can't catch me. You can't catch me."

Mark looked up, Beak Blaster in hand. "Okay, this guy's really starting to annoy me." He landed a shot on the Hybrasect, causing him to fall to the ground. "Okay, Rover Launcher!"

But Wayne stopped him. "We can't use it. Not with what he did to it." He then indicated that the dune buggy/cannon was covered head-to-toe in glue, making it impossible to do anything with.

"Okay then.", Mark said as he stepped forward. "Guess we'll have to go for the Hyper Cannons."

The five inserted their Wing Sabers into their Beak Blasters, forming the Hyper Cannons, which they aimed at Stickroach. "Fire!", they all called as they pressed the trigger, causing the Hybrasect to be surrounded by fire.

"We did it.", Steven celebrated.

"Good riddance.", Carrie commented.

However, much to everyone's horror, Stickroach emerged from the flames unscathed. "Was that supposed to hurt?"

"He survived.", Lulu said, with a tone of voice that made it clear she understood the gravity of the situation.

Wayne was also shocked. "Nothing's ever survived a shot from all 5 Cannons at once."

"Oh, so you were trying to burn me to death, we're you?", Stickroach said, annoyed. "Well let's see how you like being sprayed with fire." He then launched a stream of flame from one of his nozzles, which knocked them back. "Well that was fun. Tat-ta." The Hybrasect then dashed off in the other direction, vanishing from sight quickly. As the Rangers recovered, they were unaware they were being watched by a mysterious presence.

"So this is the force defending Earth.", the voice noted. "Pathetic."

* * *

On board the ship, Algrin was impressed with his subordinate's work. "I don't know how you did it Fwelf, but you've managed to actually create something that can threaten the Rangers."

"Even I'm surprised by that.", the returning Stickroach commented. "I thought the Flying Rangers were supposed to be tough."

"They are, but I modified you to be tougher.", Fwelf explained. "I found out that Galvahex had a data archive of every weapon in the Rangers' arsenal. Using that, I then took a Hybrasect and identified weaknesses in its composition that the weapons took advantage of. With this in mind, I created a totally unbeatable Hybrasect, with none of the weaknesses of his brothers. His senses have been severely enhanced, to the point that, as you saw, he dealt with the Rover Launcher ahead of time."

"Speaking of Galvahex, where is he?", Algrin realised. "We haven't seen him or Halatia since their last failure."

* * *

To answer that question, Galvahex had sequestered himself inside his quarters alongside their human member. During their last battle, she had suffered a hit to the head from friendly fire, courtesy of the Black Ranger. Now, her original personality from before she was captured and brainwashed by the Dominion had returned. "Why don't you let me go?", the human asked. "I'm not useful to you anymore. Mark knows I'm alive and I'm not on your side."

"You are still here", Galvahex said in response "because Algrin would notice if Halatia suddenly vanished from our ranks and returned to the humans. Even if I could set you free, which my programming forbids me from doing, Algrin would still track you down and return you to his ranks."

"Are you sure you're stuck following your programming.", Mary asked. "You were programmed to kill me when you were finished with the brain scraping, but you kept me alive."

"That was merely a temporary defect in my processor.", Galvahex tried to assure her. "If you wish to remain alive, then we must convince Algrin and Fwelf that you are still under the brainwashing. You'll have to do some acting."

"Right, acting. That shouldn't be too difficult. I played Lady Macbeth in my third grade drama festival. This should be a breeze." But it didn't take very long for Mary to cave in to the pressure. She didn't even say one word. "Can you help me practice?"

Galvahex let out an electronic sigh. This was going to take a while.

* * *

Back at the Nest, everyone sans Mark (who was off training himself elsewhere) informed the Group captain of their troubles. "He just seemed impervious to everything in our arsenal.", Steven exclaimed.

"Isn't there something we have on standby to exterminate this bug?", Lulu asked.

Wayne shook his head. "Nothing. Everything that was in the Garuda files has already been built and deployed."

"In the files, maybe.", Gordon interjected. "There is however at least one prototype weapon I've had in preparation for a long time."

Wayne was flabbergasted. "Why haven't I heard of this before now?"

"Because I had it constructed by an outside designer, one Doctor Yuki Minami.", was the answer he received. "If you want to receive it, than Dr. Minami lives in Hokkaido, Japan."

Carrie stepped forward. "I've always wanted to go to my mom's homeland. Plus I speak a little of the language. I'll go with Wayne to pick up these new weapons."

"I don't know.", the Group captain said. "One Ranger being absent might be acceptable, but I'm not sure we can still function effectively without two of them."

"Please, we managed to take out an elite Commander with only 3 of us.", Lulu pointed out. "If it gets to the point where he grows big, we can just use Dash Boxer again."

"So it's settled.", Wayne said decisively. "Mark, Steven and Lulu will stay behind to fight Stickroach, while Carrie and I go to pick up the new toys from Dr. Minami."

"It's not ideal, but it'll have to do.", the Group captain nodded. "Now go." The others nodded and went about their decided tasks. "Good luck.", she said under her breath.

* * *

In the garden of the Lowfall Apartments building, Mark was practising with a foil on some bushes, as he collapsed on one knee. "I think I'm definitely improving.", he said to no-one in particular.

"You keep telling yourself that.", Leroy said as he came out with a drink. "What's brought about this current obsession with Kendo? Something to do with your job?"

"Something like that.", Mark said in response as he sat down. "Have you told anyone else about my work? It's supposed to be a secret, after all."

"And it's perfectly safe with me.", Leroy assured him. "Client-customer confidentiality's a major part of the deal. I just want to know how long you've been in the line of saving the people from aliens."

"I've had this job for the last 5 years, though I've been active only for a couple of months now. Months I've spent without sleep, thinking about the fact that I'm one of only 5 things standing between the world and complete destruction."

Leroy lost his casual expression. "Have you considered taking a break and going on vacation? Even for just one weekend?"

Mark thought about this question for a few seconds, before being interrupted by his communicator beeping. He excused himself and answered the call. It was Lulu. "Big bro. The bug-man's back on the rampage. Steven and I are heading to his location now. Get here as fast as you can."

"Okay.", Mark replied, before ending the call and morphing to join the battle.

* * *

Elsewhere, Wayne and Carrie were touching down in Japan. Not willing to wait the few days it would take to arrange for seats on a commercial flight, they had decided to take the Falcon Corde for speed, with Gordon calling Dr. Minami to let him know they were coming. Luckily, he good doctor had taken the liberty of having a runway installed at his laboratory, presumably in case they had used the vehicles to visit him. After touching down, the two Rangers exited their transport to see a middle-aged Japanese man in a lab coat waiting for them. This must be Dr. Minami, the two thought. It was Carrie who decided to greet him, figuring that he only spoke Japanese. "Gokigen'yō, Minami-Hakase.", Carrie said in unaccented Japanese, doing a curtsy.

"It's nice to see that you speak my language.", was the man's reply, spoken in pretty perfect English. "Fortunately for our international collaboration, I speak yours as well. You must be two of Gordon-Shirei-kan's Flying Rangers."

"Wayne Burley and Caroline Brown, at your service Professor.", came the Black Ranger's response. "We hear you have a new weapon that we can use."

Minami nodded. "Indeed I do, Wayne-san. But I think it would be better if we discussed this in private. Let's take this indoors." The Professor led his visitors indoors, unaware that the same presence from the docks was still watching from afar.

"So the Flying Rangers have a new weapon ready to deploy, eh? We can't allow that, can we?" His thoughts voiced, he followed the three inside the lab, summoning a squadron of Bio-Roids once inside.

* * *

Up on the ship, Fwelf noticed the sudden appearance of Bio-Roids in another country. "Algrin, did we send a squad of Bio-Roids to attack a place called 'Hoak-aid-do'?"

"This is the first I've heard of it.", the Mad Viscount replied as he walked closer to the screen, as if to confirm what he was being told was true. Sure enough, it was showing a clear signal. "Send down some U-Clones to investigate."

* * *

Elsewhere, Stickroach was attacking again. "I love the smell of destruction in the morning.", he declared to no-one in particular.

"Hold it right there.", the Hybrasect turned around to see three of the 5 Rangers had shown up. "You got the better of us last time, but this time you won't get away.", the Red one declared.

"It's funny that you think there's an option to catch up with me.", Stickroach laughed, before sprinting off again.

"Great.", Steven quipped. "How are we supposed to catch up to him now?"

Lulu stepped forward. "Don't worry. Wayne shared his bike's upgrades with me." She then spoke into her communicator. "Jet Cycle, come closer." The bike came on command, with its owner jumping on and speeding off after the speedy Hybrasect.

"Hey that's no fair.", Stickroach complained. "Using a vehicle gives you the advantage."

"That's kind of my idea.", Lulu responded. "Let's see how you like my other new trick." She pressed a button on the left handlebar, which caused a laser to fire from the headlights, which hit Stickroach and knocked him down. "My own personal fly swatter."

"Nice shot.", Mark commented. "Now I can actually get a shot in on this thing. Sky Enforcer, Burst Mode!" He fired his laser at the Hybrasect, hitting him in the chest.

But Stickroach recovered from both of these shots. "You didn't think those would really hurt me, did you?" He then dashed off again, no worse for wear.

Lulu and Steven tried to run after him, but Mark stopped them. "Wait. We need to come up with a new plan before we face him again. Something we've never done before."

* * *

Back in Hokkaido, Dr. Minami was showing off the new weapons to his two visitors. They were a set of red, compact guns, with the word "Jetman' written on them. "These are the AviAttackers. They come with 3 different modes: electric, ice, and fire. They also have an auto-targeting system that makes it so no target can escape its sights."

Wayne was impressed. "Would you mind giving us a demonstration, 'hakassy'." He was using the term that Carrie had referred to him as earlier.

"It's 'Hakase'.", Minami corrected him. "But since you asked, I'd be pleased to show off my creation's capabilities." But before he could do anything further, a group of Bio-Roids appeared in the laboratory. "Dare da?", he asked.

"Bio-Roids.", Carrie answered him. She then took two AviAttackers from the stands. "Minami-Hakase, let us handle this situation." The doctor nodded and ran off. "I thought the Dominion had scrapped these guys."

As she finished saying this, a group of U-Clones teleported in. "Evidently, they like to mix and match.", Wayne commented. "But it's a good opportunity to test out these new AviAttackers."

Carrie three one of her picked-up weapons to Wayne and they engaged the two groups of grunts. Wayne flicked a switch on he weapon, which announced "_Thunder Attack!_" He then fired a bolt of lightning at the U-Clones which knocked them back and destroyed a few of them. Carrie meanwhile went for the Bio-Roids, setting the AviAttacker to "_Freeze Attack_" Mode. The grunts were encased in ice, which shattered, destroying them. Hen both set their weapons to "_Fire Attack_", unleashing a laser beam that wiped out the remaining U-Clones.

As they began to celebrate, Carrie felt something nip at her neck. "Are you ok?", Wayne asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine.", Carrie assured him. "Just a bug bite. We'd better get these AviAttackers to the rest of the team." They picked up the remaining weapons and made their way back to the Falcon Corde, only stopping to give a "thank you" to Dr. Minami, who looked like he wanted to explain something to them.

* * *

Onboard the ship, Galvahex and "Halatia" emerged from the former's quarters onto the bridge. "So I see you've seen fit to join us.", Algrin commented. "Where've you're been?"

"I've been… recovering from injuries.", "Halatia" told him. "I'm better now, thanks to the help of the robot."

Algrin seemed suspicious, but he dismissed his grievances. "Well you're just in time. We're about to witness the end of the Flying Rangers, once and for all."

* * *

Sure enough, down on Earth, Stickroach was besting the three Rangers in combat. "You really think you can do anything against me? I'm impervious to all your moves."

"All the old ones, maybe.", Mark pointed out. "But we've got something new prepared just for you." The three then used their Sky Enforcers' Burst Mode, combined with the Hyper Cannons and fired at him. However, the Hybrasect still got up afterwards.

"Not even using two weapons overcame him.", Steven commented.

Stickroach laughed. "Like I said, nothing you have with you can hurt me."

"Then let's see how you do against something they don't have." Stickroach looked up to see Wayne and Carrie jumping down in their Ranger gear. They hit the Hybrasect with their new AviAttackers, knocking him down.

"Nice save.", Lulu commented.

"Thanks.", Carrie responded. She then threw an AviAttacker each to the other three. "And that's just for starters. Just try the auto-targeting."

"I'd rather not.", Stickroach said as he sped away in the other direction, moving from side to side.

_Lock On!_

"Oh no you don't.", Mark said as he fired his new weapon.

_Fire Attack!_

The beam bounced off the crates and eventually hit the Hybrasect, knocking him on his belly. "Alright, something actually hurt him", Lulu celebrated.

It was then that Carrie's communicator beeped. She saw that it was Dr. Minami on the other end. "I didn't have a chance to tell you something. You can insert the AviAttackers into your Beak Blasters for added firepower."

"Got it.", Mark nodded. He flicked a switch on the AviAttacker. The top half of the gun's barrel folded backwards, allowing a scope to fold onto the front of the barrel. He then plugged this new form into his Beak Blaster. "Sonic Smasher, assembled!"

_Fire Attack, Power Up!_

The others, having also assembled their Sonic Smashers, all aimed them at Stickroach, who began to panic. "I'm innocent. I was framed."

Everyone ignored this comment. "Fire!"

_Strike Out!_

The beams all hit Stickroach, blowing up his body. The Hybrasect survived, but instead of growing, it merely exploded into goop. "That's different.", Steven commented.

Before anything else could be said, Mark collapsed suddenly. "Mark, are you ok?", Lulu asked, concerned.

"I'm fine.", he tried to insist. But he knew that it was fatigue brought about from trying to take out this last Hybrasect. As such, he bought back to what Leroy had suggested earlier. Maybe he did need a break.

* * *

Onboard the ship, Algrin was furious. "Why didn't Stickroach grow like the others? His Hybrasect survived, didn't it?"

Fwelf became nervous. "Well, you see, when I was modifying the Hybrasect to remove his weaknesses, I MAY have also had to remove the ability to grow giant upon absorbing enough energy."

"And you're a junior technical officer?", "Halatia" tutted. Mary was using the information Galvahex had given her in order to make that insult.

"Quite right.", a new voice commented. The same voice that had been watching the Rangers earlier. "If you can't upgrade your forces without sacrificing their most valuable asset, then it's no wonder you haven't conquered this primitive mudball yet."

Everyone looked around, terrified by this new presence. "Who's there?", Galvahex asked. "Show yourself."

"My apologies. It was rude of me not to introduce myself." Then a cluster of insects assembled into a humanoid ant, with a cannon on his right arm. I am Cannant, second in command to Emperor Tann. And neither of us are impressed with your work."


	20. Ants in Your Pants

Edward Ratcliffe had just returned from his extended vacation. He had been allowed to take one as per his contract giving him up to 5 weeks off a year. He had decided to use the, all at once soon after the incident with the camera monster, which had the Red Ranger Mark Goodman thinking about his presumed dead girlfriend. The whole incident had reminded Edward of his grandmother, bedridden and slowly dying in a nursing home in Newark. So, with permission from Commander Gordon, he had gone to spend time with her, as she may be close to death. He knew that his co-worker Jimmy Caldwell could handle his duties in his absence. However, when news reached Newark of a giant monster rampaging through Winter Valley and destroying half the city, Ratcliffe knew the he would be needed to help the Flying Rangers. So he had hastily cut short his vacation and returned to the Nest as soon as possible.

"Hello.", he called through the corridors of the complex, expecting some reply. But he heard none, not even as an echo. He proceeded to go to the main control room, where he knew that Wing Commander Gordon would be. After all, she almost never left the room, to the point that before they had left for the Garuda project, Michael and Rachael had joked she was born in the room. As he opened the door, he saw a green bird-like creature standing in the room. It turned around to face Ratcliffe, before a green flash blinded him, to the point he had to rub his eyes.

"Are you okay, Ratcliffe?", the familiar voice of the Commander filled the air. Edward opened his eyes to see that she was standing there, with no trace of the bird-man anywhere.

Ratcliffe nodded nervously. "I'm fine now.", he replied. "I thought I saw a giant bird standing in this room though, Commander."

"It was probably a trick of the light.", Gordon assured him. "And by the way, I've been promoted to Group captain while you were away. And Pilot Goodman is now a Flying Officer."

This brought up the burning question that Ratcliffe had on his mind. "Where is Flying Officer Goodman anyway? It's not like him, or indeed any of the others to miss work."

"I gave them the weekend off.", came the answer. "Goodman was exhausted after their last battle, so I decided to let him and the others spend time in Fenmore, recuperating."

"That seems like a good idea.", Ratcliffe said in response. "Let's just hope the Dominion doesn't get up to anything while they're away."

* * *

And talking of the Dominion, Algrin and the others were in the middle of a rude awakening. The newly-crowned Emperor Tann, who had previously made clear his intention to come to Earth, had sent his right hand man Cannant on ahead. And tha ant-like humanoid with a large cannon was not happy with their progress.

"You're a disgrace to the Emperor's forces.", Cannant yelled. "You've had ample opportunity to take this planet by force and you've failed to do that, thanks to these 'Flying Rangers'. I'd assumed, since even our own Queen Uuhcura lost her life trying to take them down, that they were simply more powerful than us. But as it turns out, no. You simply failed to anticipate their reactions, no matter how you improve your forces with Hybrasects and those brutes I saw teleporting to Japan."

"You know about that?", Algrin gulped.

"Of course I do. I was there, handling the situation with my Bio-Roids before your 'U-Clones' interfered with my attempt to destroy the AviAttackers before they could be put into service. Who's pathetic idea was it to interfere?"

Mary, still posing as Halatia for appearances sake, pointed to Fwelf. "It was him, sir. Our robot can prove it."

Sure enoug, Galvahex replayed audio of Fwelf's conversation with Algrin from the eponymous incident. "Did we send a squad of Bio-Roids to attack a place called 'Hoak-aid-do'?"

"Thanks a lot guys.", Fwelf growled. "So much for 'honour amongst thieves'."

Cannant grabbed Fwelf. "I'm impressed with your work engineering those U-Clones." He was unaware they were cloned from the late Queen Uuhcura, whose corpse now lay in a device Algrin had dubbed 'the Fusionliser'. "I want you to help me with a project of my own."

"What project?", Fwelf said curiously.

"I want to see how far my ant virus can spread amongst the humans without my interference. I already have a carrier heading to a town called 'Fenmore', where our experiment will commence."

"And what will happen if the plan fails to go as you intend?", Galvahex thought to ask.

Cannant turned towards him. "If my plan fails, then my ship has a neutron missile aimed at the town. On press of a button and there won't be any evidence of anything. The Flying Rangers will be caught unawares when they come to investigate."

* * *

Unknown to Cannant, the 5 Rangers were on their way to Fenmore, but under different circumstances. Steven was sitting near the back of the bus, looking out a window at the country scenery. Lulu decided to interrupt his solitude. "Hey, grumpy-face. Cheer up, we're going on an all expenses paid trip to the country. You should appreciate the time off."

"I do.", Steven assured her. "It's just, that a while ago, I remembered something about my past that involved the town we're going to. Carrie and I tried to go here and find the truth, but you know what happened with that case."

Lulu assumed he was referring to the incident with Brakedecker, where her brother had almost been murdered by a living car. "Speaking of Carrie, she's been acting pretty strange lately." She then pointed at her friend, who was seemingly trying to pry her way into the wall of the vehicle. "I tried asking her about it, but she insisted nothing's wrong."

Before the conversation could continue, the bus came to a stop and a loud bang was heard. The driver opened the door and disembarked, with the smell of engine oil filling the air. Carrie immediately dashed to get off the bus, alongside another man in a white suit. "Wait, Carrie.", Wayne called, running off after his teammate. Lulu and Steven decided to follow the commotion, ending up outside the vehicle where the driver was inspecting the engine.

"Looks like some idiot has shot a hole in our engine.", the driver noted. "We're leaking oil, but I'm sure I can patch it." But before he could begin any work, Carrie and the other man lunged for the leak, with ravenous looks on their faces. Wayne and Steven managed to hold their friend back, but Lulu was less lucky with the other man, who began to drink from the leak. The driver pulled him out after a few seconds. "Look buddy, even if you're thirsty, this is not the way to quench it." He then turned towards the other 3. "The same applies for your friend. Try to keep her out of trouble."

"We will.", Steven nodded, before having the other two lead Carrie back onto the bus. "Carrie, what's gotten into you? You weren't seriously trying to drink that engine's oil, were you?"

Carrie was in shock. "I don't know what I was doing. All I remember is feeling hungry."

"Maybe, but Steven's point still stands.", Wayne pointed out. "You can't just drink something potentially lethal, even if you are hungry."

It was then that Mark, who had decided to stay in his seat for the purposes of staying calm, stood up to join the argument. "Have you sorted out the problem?"

"I'm don't think we have.", Steven said in response. Instead of returning to his original seat, he decided to sit down next to Carrie, in order to keep a closer eye on her.

* * *

From afar, Cannant observed the outcome of his handiwork. "So the ant virus has had an effect on both of my infected already. This spells good news for our upcoming main tests."

Fwelf was confused. "You know that one of those two is the White Ranger, right?"

"Of course I knew, you fool.", Cannant said as he slapped his inferior. "I infected her myself earlier with a slower-acting dosage of the same virus while we were in Japan. I expected her to become another ant-drone, but the fact she's coming to the town with her comrades is even better news. Now all of them will become my thralls when the virus spreads."

* * *

Some time later, the repaired bus pulled up to the Cliffside Hotel, where the Rangers had been booked to spend their weekend. Leroy had recommended it to Mark, as he was an old friend of the owner, a Mrs. Samandra Hinton. The passengers got off the bus to see that there was a construction site next door to the hotel, where, as seems to be habit for these sorts of situations, a girder in the process of being moved fell off its supports and descended towards, of all people, Carrie.

However, before anyone could call out 'Look out', the girder hit its unintentional target. However, instead of being crushed, Carrie simply picked up the girder effortlessly and threw it back into the site. "You should really make sure the safety in this area is improved.", she said to a worker, who nodded nervously.

Mark and Lulu both looked on, dumbfounded. "Ok, something is DEFINITELY wrong with her.", the older sibling noted.

"Agreed, but what could it be?", asked his sister.

* * *

The party went inside the hotel, where Steven was stopped by a picture on a wall. "That's me.", he said in shock. "But this photo is from the '60s." He looked at the plaque beneath it.

_'Dedicated to the memory of Marvin Hinton, who was declared MIA in South Korea, 18th May, 1968. This dedication was erected by his mother, Samandra and his brother Keenan.'_

"My name…" Steven said simply "…is Marvin Hinton?"

Wayne stopped this thought. "Hold on a minute, Steven. This can't be right. There was no fighting in Korea in 1968. The war was in Vietnam at that point in history. Just what would this guy be doing in South Korea, even if he wasn't you?"

"Oh he weren't in 'Nam at that time.", a middle-aged, African-American woman came over to them. Wayne and Steven assumed this must be the manager they had been told about, namely because she was listed on the plaque as the mother of the missing GI. "Marvin was on a trip home at the time, when his superiors ordered him onto this Korean mission. The last we heard of him, he'd met a girl in his squad who seemed like a nice person from what he told me of her. June Gordon, her name was." She then got a good look at Steven. "Come to think of it, you do look like Marvin. The resemblance is uncanny."

But Mark had overheard this conversation, particularly the part about the girlfriend. "So, if Steven really is this Marvin guy, Gordon is somehow involved in him ending up in Kuwait. The plot thickens."

But Lulu ended this train of thought. "Big bro, don't think too hard about this. If this Marvin guy did become Steven, then how come he looks exactly the same after 24 years? It doesn't make sense."

"Okay, I'll let it go.", he fibbed to her. As she walked away, he resumed that thought. "Something happened in South Korea in '68. And I need to find out what it is."

As if by magic, Private Dawson from the Disaster Response Team that had dealt with Kodokor's aftermath turned up. "Did I hear you musing about the Korea case? Because I've looked into that myself."

"Private Dawson, as I live and breathe.", Mark reached out for a handshake, which was reciprocated. "What brings you to this remote town in the countryside?"

"I've been doing research on your friend's identity since we last met. That led me to Marvin Hinton's file, which led me to research the Korea incident. I guessed you'd probably come here sooner or later, so I made sure to book myself in as a guest. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any details about the incident other than the co-ordinates they were travelling to." Dawson then handed a small slip of paper to Mark. "If you want to find your answers, then this is where you'll find them."

Mark nodded. "Thank you. I'll make sure to put it on the agenda when I get back to work. But for now, I'm on a break to recuperate."

* * *

Later that evening, the 5 sat down in the dining hall for dinner. All of them had picked up food items from the bar, but Carrie's stood out the most. "Is anyone else going to point out how that is way more meat than the recommended amount?", Wayne asked.

"Yes it is.", Steven nodded.

As soon as they had noted this, Carrie began to eat. But instead of using utensils, she buried her face in her food and began to wolf it down ravenously. Everyone cringed at that. "Have I mentioned that I've become a vegetarian?", Lulu commented

Wayne was genuinely intrigued. "Oh really, since when?"

"Since right now."

When Mark put his hand closer to Carrie, she moved her head up and snarled at him. Only now, she had black skin, mandibles surrounding her mouth and feelers sticking out of her head. "Ew, gross.", Steven commented. At the same time, the man in the white suit from the bus stood up, his face similarly transformed. Carrie joined him as the two released a black haze into the air. The other 4 Rangers wasted no time in rushing out of the room.

"Great, just great.", Lulu complained. "We came to this place to catch a break and suddenly Carrie becomes a gas spewing spider."

"An ant actually, but still.", Wayne corrected her. "A virus that turns people into ants. I've never seen anything like it before."

"I have.", Mark realised. "When I got sent to the planet where they're keeping our station crew, one of the foremen had that as a power. I saw him do it to one of the escapees."

Lulu guessed what her brother was thinking. "You think he's come to Earth for some reason?"

"Either that, or someone like him.", Steven contributed.

Then the ant-converted Carrie burst out of the dining room, followed by an entourage of other converted victims. When she spoke, it was with a voice that clearly wasn't hers overlaid over her own. Wayne, Lulu and Steven didn't recognise it, but Mark did. It was Cannant's voice. "I see you Rangers have worked out my role in this affair. Well done, I can see how you've constantly managed to thwart our conquering attempts."

"It's an unpleasant surprise to see you're here, you overgrown insect.", Mark said back to Cannant. "What's brought you to this planet, hibernating for the winter?"

"Very funny, Mark Goodman.", was Cannant's reply. "If you must know, I am here because Emperor Tann has decided to come and take control of the Earth conquest strategy so that he can kill you to avenge the losses of Equiptile and Queen Uuhcura."

"So your boss is now the big cheese of the Dominion, huh? I always thought his manners were pretty stale."

Wayne decided to stop this verbal sparring. "If you're done with your 'mom jokes' contest, what have you done to Carrie and these other people, you freak?"

Cannant's mouthpiece laughed. "Your friend is part of my experiments with my Ant-Drone virus on humans. I have a machine which has increased the strength of the venom in both of my patient zeroes, one of which was your friend Caroline Brown. I had her infected when you were in Japan and the machine has caused the venom to take effect the closer you got to this town, along with my other victim."

"So that's why Carrie was acting so weird lately.", Steven realised.

"Exactly. The virus awakened more of her ant traits as she approached the machine. And now it has progressed to the point that the infected have spread the virus in an airborne form. Now this whole town is a large contained ant farm, where the effects of my latest viral strain can be studied. But I'm going to give the three of you a chance to stop me."

Wayne was confused. "'Three of us'? But there are -." Before he could finish, he cried out in pain and was converted into another Ant-Drone, much to the other threes' horror. This new creation began taking over Cannant's speech.

"As I was saying, you three have a chance to find and stop my machine, getting through my Ant-Drones as you go. But as a little handicap, you will still begin to suffer from the ant virus. It will simply take longer for you to suffer it's effects and the strains will activate at different intervals. Good luck." The Ant-Drone that used to be Wayne suddenly returned to the same zombie-like gait as the others.

"I think we should be going.", Steven suggested. Mark and Lulu concedes, following him in running out of the building.

* * *

Back at the Nest, Ratcliffe and Caldwell noticed there was an alert on the computer. "What's happening?", Ratcliffe asked.

"His alarm indicates that something is wrong with one of the Rangers.", Caldwell answered him, as he looked at the computer. "This can't be right. It says here that the bearers of the Black and Pink Ranger powers are human, but now possess non-human DNA."

"What does that mean?"

Caldwell looked his co-worker in the face. "It means that Wayne and Carrie have been infected by something that's changing their DNA. Hopefully the others." He brought up their scans, only to be even more distressed. "Oh no. They've got the same virus. And although it's dormant for now, it could go off at any time."

"We can only hope that they can stop this before it's too late.", mused Ratcliffe.

* * *

Back in Fenmore, the remaining Rangers had morphed and were now pushing their way through the hordes of Ant-Drones. "Remember, try not to hurt them.", Mark reiterated. "These are people too and we can't risk hurting them with our weapons."

"You mean we have to face these things simply by pushing?", Lulu asked.

"No we don't.", Steven realised. "We still have one weapon." He pulled out the AviAttacker and adjusted the setting to "_Freeze Attack_". He then fired on the infected civilians, freezing them in place. "Ok, this should hold them in place for a while. We need to figure out where Cannant built that machine."

"Presumably he built it somewhere where it would have a large uninterrupted area to disperse its signal." Lulu thought. Then she had a realisation. "Are there any large fields around here?"

"Yes there is one.", Mark answered her. "It's over to the west, just past -." But before he could continue, he convulsed in pain, demorphing and revealing that his hand had already turned into one like the Ant-Drones.

Lulu was scared. "Oh no, not you too."

But Mark resisted the transformation. "Don't worry, I can still hold out for a few minutes. That should give you two enough time to find that machine and smash it." With his last moments of lucidity, Mark said to Steven "I leave the rest to you.", before the signal took hold of him and he began convulsing.

"It's too late for him, but not for us. Come on.", Steven stated, but Lulu wasn't budging. "Let's go!", he yelled, having to pull her along with him.

* * *

"No.", Cannant cried as he observed the monitor. "They're getting too close to the machine. I need to end this experiment now." He pressed the button to launch the missiles, but nothing happened. Not even after several minutes.

"Shouldn't there be a kaboom?", Fwelf asked, semi-mockingly.

"My neutron missiles have been stolen.", Cannant said, annoyed. "Change of plans: you go out and deal with the Rangers. I'll follow in a few minutes." He then forcibly teleported his subordinate down near the machine.

Fwelf gulped. "Well, sometimes you gotta live with the changes.", he summoned a platoon of U-Clones to protect the machine. "Let's see those two Rangers get past this."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Galvahex was dragging in a large missile. "Are you sure it was a good idea to sabotage Cannant's plans, my Lord? What if the Emperor finds out?"

"He won't.", Algrin assured him. "I have a cover story ready for when that fool inevitably fails. Besides, the prospect of working with neutron missiles is too great to ignore." He then pulled out a Hybrasect. "Far too great."

* * *

Down on Earth, Steven and Lulu had found their way to the machine's location, out in an open field. "So this is the thing causing all this trouble? Well it's not going to be hard to break.", Steven commented.

"You'd think it would be better guarded than it is,", Lulu said offhandedly. As if on cue, Fwelf appeared with the U-Clones. "I just had to say it, didn't I?"

"I'm sorry, Rangers.", Fwelf gloated. "Looks like your long and hard task is coming to an end here. Get them!"

The U-Clones engaged the two Rangers, who quickly found themselves overwhelmed by the enemy drones. Even worse, Lulu's ant disease caught up with her, turning her into a Ant-Drone. "Looks like its up to me.", Steven said. He whipped out his AviAttacker and Beak Blaster and combined them into the Sonic Smasher.

_Fire Attack, Power Up!_

"No, stop!", Fwelf cried out. But it was futile, as Steven leaped up and aimed his weapon at the machine, depressing the trigger.

_Strike Out!_

The machine exploded, taking a few of the U-Clones with it. The Ant-Drone that was Lulu collapsed and reverted to normal. "What happened? Did we do it?"

"Oh we did it.", replied Steven. "The others should be returning to normal around now."

* * *

In the town, Mark and Wayne woke up next to each other. "No seriously, what do you mean by - how did I get here?", the latter said.

"They must've done it.", Mark smiled. He then grabbed his friend. "Come on, Steven and Lulu need our help." He dragged him along with him towards the scene of the battle.

* * *

Elsewhere in the town, Carrie also regained consciousness nest to the other carrier. "What happened? I was in the dining hall of the Cliffside."

"So was I.", he other man said. "How did we get here?"

Then Carrie saw a plume of smoke in the distance. "Trouble. I should be over there." She then dashed towards the scene, leaving the man behind.

* * *

Fwelf was angry over the Rangers' victory. "You may have destroyed our plan, but I'll still destroy you. U-Clones, attack!"

But just as they began to lumber towards their targets, they were destroyed by a shot from behind. Everyone turned around to see the Red and Black Rangers standing there, Hyper Cannons in hand. "I guess we're fashionably late.", Mark commented.

"On the contrary.", Lulu interjected. "You're right on time." She then reached for her bracelet and activated it. "Let's Fly!" In a flash, she was morphed into the Blue Ranger. "Let's pound this creep into the ground."

But that was no easy task. Mark tried leaping at Fwelf with his Wing Saber, but was blown backwards by telepathy. Steven and Lulu then tried shooting him, but he blew their Beak Blasters out of their hands and into the air a split second before they fired, resulting in the two of them being the only ones to suffer. Finally Wayne tried to grab hold of the dwarf, only to be dodged via teleportation and eventually a cloak, which exploded in his hand. "Do you really think you pitiful idiots can get the better of me?", Fwelf mocked, throwing a barrel at the 4 via telekinesis.

"Oh no you don't, you little -!", Wayne yelled. He leaped into the air and punched the barrel with his Sky Enforcer, sending it back to its sender.

It was then that Cannant teleported in to the scene. "Do I have to do everything right?", he growled, before firing a blast at the Rangers, sending them back. "I'll just have to crush you myself." He leapt into the air and grew to giant size.

"He can grow on his own?", Fwelf said in disbelief. "Well I'm not sticking around." He then teleported out as Carrie arrived on the scene.

"Can someone tell me what I missed?", she asked, before looking up and seeing the giant Cannant. "Never mind, I think I get the gist of it." She then morphed into the White Ranger. "And I'm pretty sure he did something to me, so I want payback."

"Well, I'll make sure you get it.", Mark said, speaking into his communicator. "Falcon Corde!"

**F-F-F-Falcon!**

The Falcon Megazord appeared in front of the giant Cannant. "This isn't human technology, where did you get it? No matter, I'll find out when I wreck it." He fired his cannon, but the Falcon dodged and engaged in hand-to-hand with the Dominion's higher-up. Eventually, the Megazord gained the upper hand and beat him down. "I didn't think you were this powerful."

"Avion Maser!" The robot fired a beam from its chest that knocked the giant back further.

"And this is for what you did to me.", Carrie said, operating her joysticks. "Falcon Corde, jump!" The robot jumped into the air. "Scratch Break!" The Falcon Megazord performed its finisher on Cannant.

"This can't be. I was supposed to destroy you.", Cannant cried as he exploded.

"Good riddance.", Carrie declared.

"Yeah.", Lulu commented.

* * *

Back at the Nest, Ratcliffe noted something on the monitor. "Ma'am, according to this, the Falcon isn't returning to base. In fact, it's heading outside this country."

Gordon was concerned. "Where is it headed?"

"According to this, it's going to land in… South Korea? I can't think of a reason why it's heading there."

"I can.", the Group captain said. "And it's something I hoped they wouldn't find out until later."

* * *

Down on the ground, Wayne, Steven, Carrie and Lulu were in the middle of a conversation. "What do you mean 'Mark took the Falcon to South Korea'?", Carrie asked.

"I mean exactly that.", Wayne stated. "Its all here in this note he gave me back in the cockpit." Everyone gathered around to read the note.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay here and enjoy this weekend break with you. But thanks to Private Dawson's findings and the old lady's retelling of what happened to her son, I have too strong a lead on the mysteries of both Steven and Gordon. So, I've decided to take this opportunity where a giant monster appeared to take the Falcon to South Korea, where Marvin Hinton disappeared on a mission with June Gordon, and find out the truth for myself. I don't know when I'll return, but for now, enjoy the rest of your break. Your leader and friend, Mark Goodman."

"So what do we do now.", Steven asked. "We don't know when he'll come back."

"For now," Lulu answered "we carry on. All we need to do is wait and he'll bring us the answers we need to solve this case."

* * *

_**Coming soon on Power Rangers Wing Force!**_

_Tann stands on top of a hill._

_"This guy is the new leader of the Dominion?"_

_The 5 Rangers are knocked back by an explosion._

_Mark confronts Gordon. "Who are you really?"_

_Gliderak runs through the exploding corridors of the Nest, sword in hand._

_"You weren't supposed to find out this way."_

_A large, foreboding black figure stands in the middle of the ruined city._

_"This world is mine!"_


	21. Arrival of the Emperor

_**5 Years Ago.**_

_Carrie Brown sat in the recruitment office of her local barracks. Her father had forbidden her from signing up for anything related to the military, but she had decided to spite him by joining anyway. She assumed that he probably had some sexist reason to not want her in service, considering that he himself had fought in Vietnam. Plus all she was signing up for was to be a combat medic, so she didn't expect to face opposition for what she thought to be basic human decency, in addition to serving the country._

_It was then that a woman came up to talk to her. "Hello, Miss Brown. My name is June Gordon.", the woman said to her. "I'm here to interview you for your service."_

_Carrie was surprised. "You mean, you've actually accepted my application?"_

_"Well, yes and no. I want you to join my unit, but it's not a normal unit. We exist to deal with a threat too dangerous for the general public to deal with.", the woman named June Gordon explained._

_Carrie was intrigued by this. "What kind of threat?"_

_"What would you say if I told you that beings from beyond this planet are coming to bring down this planet's infrastructure and enslave its population?"_

_Carrie instantly stopped paying too much attention. "I think you'll need to do more than that to get my full co-operation. I mean, aliens?"_

_"I knew that you wouldn't take me seriously straight away.", June Gordon replied. "Which is why I'll simply allow you to join a regular military platoon until I can provide something more concrete."_

_"Thank you.", Carrie said, bowing before leaving the room._

* * *

**Now**

Onboard his ship, Algrin showed off his latest creation. This was a piranha fish monster created from the neutron missiles that he had stolen from Cannant. My latest creation Torpisces has massive destructive power that not even the Flying Rangers can counter." Before he could continue, the ship was rocked with turbulence, which sent everyone, including the newest Hybrasect, off balance.

"You seem confident in your biological terror." It was then that Tann, the new King of the Dominion, teleported onto the ship. "Considering that your crew is a half-life who can't carry out a simple plan, a human with delusions of being royalty and a robot that can't follow a simple execution programme, I severely doubt it can back that up."

Torpisces got mad at this. "Ok bub, I'll show you just how tough I can be." He charged at the newcomer, only to be stopped by a wave of Tann's hand, which sent him flying backwards into the wall.

"You're weak, just like your master.", Tann tutted, oblivious to the fact said fight was patently rigged in his favour. He then went over to Fwelf. "I'm going to give you a chance to redeem yourself for your shortcomings. I'm sending you to oversee my human captives as they construct my new war machine. In my absence and with the loss of two of my subordinates to the Rangers, I need someone to keep things on track."

Fwelf gulped at this offer. "You want me to deal with a shipload of captive humans? On my own? What if there's an uprising?"

"There won't be.", Tann assured him. "All of them have been subjected to the Brain Scrape. It would take a significant shock to their cerebral cortex to restore their memories and free will. After all, your friend Halatia is proof of that. Was she not briefly restored to her human persona before being reconditioned?"

"Don't remind me.", "Halatia" interjected. She said it to make them think she was referring to her human life, but in actuality, Mary was referring to her brainwashing at the Dominion's hands, which, unbeknownst to all but Galvahex, had recently been broken.

"It's settled then." Tann pressed a button on his gauntlet, teleporting Fwelf away. "Now then, you three will help me in my objective of destroying Mark Goodman. Can you lead me to his location?", he asked "Halatia", knowing that she had knowledge of the Ranger technology.

Mary briefly gulped, before responding. "As a matter of fact, I can. The communicators the Rangers used had a secret tracking signal installed so that Commander Gordon could make sure none of them would get away with potentially betraying the team." She went over and entered some statistics into the computer, which caused a map to appear on the screen. The map indicated 4 signals in North America, with one more in South-East Asia. "This can't be right. What is the Red Rnager's signal doing in another part of the world?"

"Whatever he's doing, it's ultimately foolish of him.", Tann replied. "He's allowed himself to fall right into my hands. Shall we, my dear?" He took "Halatia" by the hand and they teleported out.

It was then that Torpisces spoke again. "So, what should I do?"

Algrin fumed. "If Tann is going to destroy the Red Ranger once and for all, I'll have to be content with the other 4. So get your scaly hide down to that town and finish them off!"

The Hybrasect nodded, before teleporting out.

* * *

**_2 Years Ago_**

_A man woke up in a hospital bed. There were two women standing over him, one close to his age and one at least 20 years his senior. "Do either of you ladies know who I am?"_

_"As you can see Medical Officer Brown, complete amnesia. This man hasn't a clue who he is.", the older woman stated._

_"This is what you called me back in for, Commander? I'm a doctor, not a psychologist.", the Medical Officer named Brown practically yelled. Then she realised the patient was still awake. "Oh I'm sorry, this just isn't my usual area. Can you tell me what you think your name is?"_

_"My name…" the man murmured, as he reached for a set of dog tags that had been left on his bedside table. He recognised them as the ones he had been found with, over in the Gulf. "Stephen Hartford.", he read. "Stephen Hartford."_

_"We think, that given extensive medical care, 'Stephen' could learn more about his past. And since you and he are both candidates for my program, I thought this could help you get to know each other.", the Commander explained._

_The medical officer sighed. "Well, since you claim to have found something since we last spoke, I'll give you the benefit of a doubt this time. I'll sign up full time, but only if this situation plays out like you say it will."_

_The Commander pulled out a briefcase. "I guessed you would say something like that, so I'll give you these for now." The briefcase contained two sets of bracelets, one longer and metallic and one triangular and made of red plastic. "This metal bracelet is a communicator in case there's an update on the situation. The other is only to be activated in the event that we're anticipating happens." With the bracelets given to the two of them, the Commander left the room, stating "I'll let you get to know each other until then.", before leaving._

_The medical officer sighed. "Well, since we're going to be spending time together, we might as well be on first-name terms, Steven. I'm Carrie, Carrie Brown."_

* * *

**Today**

The Cliffside Hotel in Fenmore was blessed with uncharacteristically good weather for the time of year. As such, the patrons were spending the day by the pool, with the 4 Rangers being no exception. They were sitting by the pool on sun beds except for Lulu, who was soaking in the pool.

"Ah, who knew taking a weekend off would be so relaxing?", Carrie said, all her troubles briefly forgotten.

"I'm definitely going to be picking this place for my next Summer break.", Wayne said in response.

Steven was thinking about his recent revelation as to his past. "Come to think of it, I do have memories of this place. I don't think my family owned it then, but it was still a nice place."

All of them were snapped out of their reverie by Lulu, who splashed them with water. "Come in the pool, guys. The water's lovely."

All of them were clearly annoyed by the teenage girl's playfulness. "Why couldn't Goodman have taken her with him?", Wayne asked.

Carrie waved her hand. "Forget about Mark. He chose to work while we relax and unwind. Nothing's going to happen while he's away."

As if on cue, a man dressed for anywhere but the pool ran into the area, screaming. "There's a walking fish out there! It's the end of the world!"

Everyone ignored him, except for the 4 Rangers. "What was that about nothing happening?", Lulu asked.

"We'd better check it out.", Wayne suggested. Everyone nodded as they headed out.

* * *

_**18 Months Ago**._

_Wayne Burley was in a sulk. Thanks to Cadet Goodman's blunder, he'd been forced out of the program. And even more insulting, Goodman had not only been allowed to carry on in the program, but he had been given enough points to graduate quicker. "It's not fair.", he fumed. "Now what am I going to with myself?"_

_"What indeed, Mr. Burley?" He turned around to see a middle-aged woman heading towards him. "My name is Commander June Gordon, and I think I have a place for you in my program."_

_Wayne tutted at this. "What place could a military group have for a guy with a broken hand that won't be able to fire a gun without extensive rehab?"_

_"A place that could make use of your other talents.", came the woman's answer. "Am I right in my research that you have a major in Mechanical Science?"_

_Wayne was intrigued by this question. "Yes. But what mechanical problems do you need me for?"_

_"We've been having some bugs with our equipment. I need an expert to help identify faults and help us redesign them to be effective. If you do this, you'll be doing a great service both to your country and your planet."_

_Wayne thought about it briefly, before reaching out for a handshake. "Well, anything to show up Goodman.", he whispered as he shook hands. He was unaware that Gordon had heard him, with her smile being an internal laugh at the irony of the situation._

* * *

**Now**.

Mark Goodman landed the Falcon Corde near the location of the spaceship and went inside the downed craft. He saw that any aliens that had piloted the craft were gone now. In fact, the structures were so covered with dust that Mark forgave himself for thinking that was all that was holding the ship together. "Whatever was inside this ship during the operation 24 years ago seems to be gone now.", he said out loud. But as he continued into the heart of the ship, Mark's vision began to blur and he started to feel faint. He realised that he should be resting right now, but he ignored that. An opportunity to discover the truth about the Group captain like this probably wouldn't come again. And he needed to know the truth.

Soon enough, he found that brain centre, with the room full of old machinery, none of it human in origin, and a skeleton. Mark assumed it must be the ship's original occupant, going over to the consoles to see what he could do. Most of the equipment had been ripped out, but there was some kind of recording device left behind, lying next to the skeleton. He also picked up a bone sample from one of the body's fingers, intending to have it analysed. He then played the recording.

"What … you… want?", said one voice, clearly not human.

Some static occurred before another voice came in, one that Mark recognised all too well. "I… follow orders.", the voice of Gordon said, before more static occurred before a bang and the recording cut out.

Mark was confused by what he had just listened to, as he pocketed the recording device. "So what does this mean? Is Gordon responsible for that thing's demise?"

"You won't live long enough to find out." Mark turned around to see Tann, standing there with Halatia in tow. "Now then, I believe I sentenced you to execution. And like last time, I've brought a witness from your species to watch your demise."

"Tann…", Mark wheezed. "I've humiliated you once, and I plan to do so again."

However, the ensuing fight did not go in the Red Ranger's favour. His exhaustion from constant battles, plus the lack of food and sleep for the last day, made his hits fail to connect, while Tann's hits came too swiftly for him to dodge. Within minutes, Mark Goodman was knocked down to the floor.

Tann laughed at his opponent falling. "You weren't up to fighting me from the beginning. Killing you now wouldn't be worth my time. I'll simply use you as a warning for your fellow Rangers." He then took his defeated opponent into his arms via psychokinesis.

As he walked off, "Halatia" followed, thinking about what Mark had been saying about Gordon. She knew that he had a point when he said something was shady with that woman. She had known that since she first laid eyes on her.

* * *

**_3 Years Ago._**

_Mary James was sitting in the local recruitment office. She had heard that the woman known as June Gordon tended to be around here, looking for recruits for her "secret project". She wasn't planning to sign up of course. She simply wanted to confront this woman. After waiting for a few minutes to be sent in, it turned out that June Gordon came out to her._

_"Now then, Miss James. A mutual source for both of us tells me you have some complaints.", the woman said to her. Though her voice didn't show it, Mary could tell there was some annoyance in the woman's attitude._

_"Of course I have complaints.", Mary practically shouted. "My boyfriend's been part of your crazy group for two years now and he's been getting hurt fighting petty crime a lot more lately. I'm worried that if he keeps this up, he might not make it to graduation." She then broke down crying. "I don't want him to be in constant danger."_

_The older woman seemed concerned to hear this. "Believe me, I'm just hearing about this for the first time. If he's going around getting hurt using faulty equipment, then I'm not responsible."_

_Mary was surprised to hear this. "You mean you gave him equipment that had bugs in it? Aren't you supposed to have ironed those out?"_

_"We tried, but none of our technics have the required knowledge of applied physics to eliminate these problems."_

_Mary had an idea upon hearing this. "I know a little about Applied Physics myself. What if I join up to fix your problems and keep an eye on my boyfriend?"_

_Gordon smiled, having successfully driven the conversation onto what she had wanted. She had read up on this girl after Goodman had offhandedly mentioned her once. What she had found had convinced her to try and get her into her organisation. "Welcome aboard, Miss James."_

* * *

**Now**.

Wayne's group faced down Torpisces in the mountains. Wayne tried leaping at the Hybrasect, only to be knocked back by a pair of missiles launched from its belly, which functioned as a second mouth. The explosion knocked Wayne back, to which the other Rangers ran towards him.

"That's only a taste of what I can do.", Torpisces gloated as he fired a second set of missiles back, which floored the whole group.

"You've been schooled by my mighty missiles."

"Man, this fish is playing hard to catch.", Lulu commented. "How can we get him to take the bait so we can blow him up?"

Steven looked over the Hybrasect in an instant. "We need to shoot at those missiles before he can fire them. Wait until he opens his mouth."

"I like that idea.", Wayne said in response. "Let's do it." As Torpisces opened his mouth, Wayne, Lulu, Carrie and Steven pulled out their Beak Blasters and shot the Hybrasect's load, detonating it and reducing Torpisces to ashes.

Lulu was quick to make a comment on the situation. "Anyone order the fried fish?"

But before any of the usual responses could be made, Tann and "Halatia" teleported onto the top of the hill, carrying the prone body of Mark. "Behold Rangers, I, the Emperor known as Tann, have achieved what my own sister and multiple of our rank and file minions could not. I have felled your leader in single combat. I shall spare you his fate, but know this. One day, the same fate will befall your entire planet, at my hands." He then threw down his prone captive and teleported out with "Halatia", a mere moment before anyone could make out the words "I'm sorry" coming from her mouth.

The 4 ran over to Mark, with all of them worried. "Mark, speak to me. Mark!", Steven cried out.

"Don't be dead, oh please don't be dead.", Carrie practically begged.

"Big bro, please be ok. Oh god, please be ok.", Lulu begged.

Only Wayne stayed level-headed throughout. "Goodman, you'd better not die on us, or I'm going to kill you."

This seemed to have an effect the Red Ranger, who woke up. "Hey, cut me some slack. I was just catching up on some sleep after that creep knocked me out. Maybe I should've just rested up here instead of heading out."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they embraced their leader. Carrie quickly brought them back to the reason why Mark had struck out on his own in the first place. "What did you find in Korea?"

"Nothing much.", was Mark's answer. "And what I did find only led to more questions that only one person could answer."

"And I think we can guess who.", Wayne added. "We need to find out the answers from Gordon herself, before something bad happens."

* * *

Onboard the ship, in the throne room that had once belonged to Queen Uuhcura, Tann had decided to enact punishment upon Algrin for his constant failures to defeat the Rangers. And by punishment, I mean beating him senseless with his psychokinesis. Algrin tried running at the Emperor with his sword, only to have it blown out of his hands by Tann, who used the weapon to telekinetically attack its wielder, knocking him to the ground. "You dare to allow this to happen to your lord?", Algrin berated his two minions.

Before the two could answer, Tann stepped on the Mad Viscount, shutting him down. "I AM YOUR LORD!", he yelled. "Not this fool, me, your Emperor. You are to serve me, or lose your lives. Is that understood?"

"Halatia" nervously nodded, while Galvahex commented. "I am a machine built to serve you. I have no choice."

Tann smiled. "Good. All three of you understand the value of loyalty to your superior." The sheer irony of said statement was not lost on Algrin and Galvahex, but they were too terrified to think too much about it. "Until that foolish half-form completes my project, We'll have to deal with the Flying Rangers. And in that field, there's going to be a few changes to our strategy."


	22. Armoured Rangers, Part 1: No Power

In the park, the Dominion had sent down a lizard Hybrasect, with a cross between a satellite transmitter and a laser on his chest. The Rangers were, of course, quick to intercept and face down this new invader. Mark jumped towards it and delivered a punch to the Hybrasect's chest, which knocked it down. He jumped back as the others joined him. "Well that was easy. Rover Launcher!"

**Cannon Mode! Red Black Yellow White Blue Charge! All Charge, Combine! Full Power!**

The Hybrasect could only recoil as the Rangers launched their weapon's full force at him.

**Maximum Firebird Bombardment!**

The blast incinerated the Hybrasect's body, leaving behind the bug, as usual. But this time, Wayne wasn't having the whole 'make my body grow' act. "Oh no you don't." He pulled out his AviAttacker and shot the bug again.

_Freeze Attack!_

The bodiless (that's a word, trust me) Hybrasect was covered in ice from head to tendril, stopping it from moving. "Man, these AviAttackers make handling the Hybrasects a snap.", Steven noted.

"Indeed.", Wayne replied. "The city gets a few more intact buildings and we get a subject to study. Everyone wins."

"Not everyone.", Mark said solemnly. "We still need to find out the truth about our Group captain, or I'm going to have even more trouble sleeping. But other than that, yeah. The Dominion gets screwed over both in the destruction and giant monster departments. Tann's not going to be happy about that."

* * *

Sure enough, on the ship, Tann wasn't happy. In fact, he was taking his anger out on Algrin, the one who'd had the idea in the first place. "You're a stupid incompetent!", the Emperor bellowed as he threw his subordinate to the floor. "Now you can't even hope for your pathetic monsters to grow giant, with the Rangers being able to freeze them in the process. Literally, I might add."

Algrin scoffed. "Like you're doing much better. They've taken out two of your top lieutenants, one of them singlehanded and with low powered weapons. You couldn't even kill the Red Ranger or demoralise his teammates. What right have you got to criticise me?"

Before Tann could inflict a greater punishment, Galvahex entered. "My Lord, I have detected a meteorite entering our sector of space, inbound towards Earth. It contains something I think you would like to see."

Tann immediately ceased his punishment of Algrin and went to look at the computer screen the robot had brought up. What he saw surprised him. "It can't be. This is the DNA of… a Hadaruga!"

"Halatia" was confused. "For those of us not well versed in galactic fauna and flora… what's a Hadaruga?"

It was Algrin who answered her. "The Hadaruga were parasites that attacked the civilised outposts of the universe, draining their energy and demolishing their societies."

Galvahex continued the lecture. "Merely killing a Hadaruga wasn't enough, as they could channel their stored energy into a sphere on their shoulder, which granted them a second life. Eventually though, they were wiped out, with their remaining DNA dispatched throughout the universe to prevent anyone from resurrecting the species for their own purposes."

"Until now.", Tann declared, holding a basic Mutasect that hadn't been given any DNA yet. "A Hadaruga fossil is the perfect opportunity to try and eliminate the threat of the Flying Rangers. After all, if you cannot strip your enemies of their life, then you can strip them of their power."

* * *

Back at the Nest, the team returned to find Captain Rolfe and the rest of his squad were there, with solemn looks on their faces. "What's going on?", Mark asked.

"I can show you, but you won't like it.", the Captain responded. "Our higher-ups have decided to show up."

Sure enough, when Mark and the others entered the control room, they saw Gordon arguing with an older man, dressed in the uniform of a Lieutenant General. His uniform identified him as 'Alexander. D'. "This is an outrage.", Gordon said, angrily. "By what right are you trying to take over MY project, that has taken over 20 years to perfect?"

"By the right of the UN's 'First Contact' protocols.", the older officer, who Lulu decided to dub 'General Alex' for lack of a better name, said in response. "Thanks to a report from your own Flying Officer Goodman to my own Private Dawson, I have evidence that you murdered a defenceless extraterrestrial during Project: Falling Star. Not to mention, doing god only knows what to poor Mr. Hartford over there." He pointed to Steven as he said this. "With that new evidence, I am placing you under close watch until your court martial." He signalled for Corporal Jarvis to come along and take her away.

"This is ridiculous.", the Group captain protested. "I've done nothing wrong."

"That may be true, but General Alex won't hear of anything other than your arrest.", Jarvis said apologetically. Lulu noted hat he seemed to have come up with the same nickname for the superior officer as she had. Nonetheless, he continued to lead their commanding officer away.

General Alex then went over to Mark and patted him on the shoulder. "Good work on the tip-off, son. Keep up the good work and I'm sure you'll go far under me."

"It wasn't a tip-off.", Mark insisted. "I was just sharing what I'd found in my investigation of the crash site in South Korea. None of which was clear as to what it meant."

"Heh, heh. You're modest as well. Just be sure to follow orders and I'll help you make Flight Lieutenant in no time."

Before the conversation could continue, an alarm sounded as Ratcliffe announced what his screen was telling him. "Tann has been sighted in a quarry in the mountains. A meteor is also set to land in the same quarry."

The 5 Rangers wasted no time in moving out. As soon as they were gone, General Alex took out his radio and called someone. "The old Rangers are exactly as we thought. Gordon was too soft on them. Prepare to move in on my command."

* * *

Elsewhere, Corporal Jarvis had put Gordon in a holding cell. "I don't want to do this ma'am, but orders is orders with General Alex. I've made sure that you have a linkup so you can still observe events."

"Terrific.", Gordon said unenthused.

* * *

The Rangers had reached Tann in the mountains. "Ah Rangers, I see you came to meet your demise.", Tann gloated.

Carrie was confused. "I think you're underestimating your odds. You don't even have a monster accompanying you."

Tann laughed at this. "On the contrary, I do have a monster waiting to face you." He pulled out a blank Mutasect to illustrate this. "He's just waiting on the right host." As if on cue, the meteorite he was anticipating flew past the Rangers and crashed in the centre of the quarry. He went over and placed the Mutasect on the still-smoking rock. "Now, my pet. Absorb the DNA of the Hadaruga from within its prison, to revive the universe's greatest predator under my control!"

The Mutasect glowed and turned into a Hybrasect, which merged into the meteor it had been placed on, creating a plume of smoke. When it cleared, the meteorite was gone, replaced by a blue creature, possessing large red eyes, volcanoes on both shoulders and a yellow orb on his chest. "KUUUURRRROOOORRRRGGGGG!", it growled

Lulu was now nervous. "Maybe we shouldn't have underestimated this guy."

"Don't worrry.", Mark reassured her. "We'll beat this thing, maybe kick some stuffing out of Tann and then go home to find out the truth about Gordon. Now, let's Ranger up."

Everyone nodded, as they all stepped forward and pressed their change bracelets. "Let's Fly!" In a flash, the Rangers were now morphed.

"Let's focus on taking out 'Kurorg' over there first.", Wayne suggested. He had named the monster after its grunt.

The 5 Rangers engaged Kurorg in battle, with Mark doing a sword slash, the girls doing a diving kick and the rest doing a flying punch. However, the monster was affected by none of this, instead using the force of their hits to send them flying backwards. It then began to draw energy from them into the orb on its chest.

"What's happening?", Mark wheezed out as he collapsed, dropping his Wing Saber.

"I don't know. But I'm feeling weak.", Carrie responded as she and Lulu also collapsed.

"I think… we're losing power.", Wayne said as he and Steven fell to the floor.

But Steven wouldn't allow himself to stay down. "We need to finish this thing off quickly."

Mark also got up. "Steven's right. Let's get this done quickly. AviAttackers!" The 5 drew their weapons after they had all stood up and fired in Kurorg's general direction. While this did create sparks on his body, it didn't seem anymore effective than their previous hits. "We need more power. Sonic Smashers!"

_Fire Attack, Power Up!_

However, before any of them could pull the trigger, Kurorg blasted the five with beams of energy, knocking them down again, this time reverting them to civilian attire. Lulu tried morphing again, only to be met with the sound of static and a flickering light, which quickly died. "Guys, I think we've lost our powers."

The others tried morphing, only to meet the same results. "That thing must have siphoned off all the energy from our bracelets.", Wayne realised. "I don't know if I can re-power them."

Tann laughed. "You are acting as if time is a luxury you possess. Now, my creature. Destroy these humans."

Kurorg advanced on the powerless Rangers, only to be hit by a shot from high above. Everyone looked up to see a group of 5 all dressed in identical black armour, with silver and blue chest panels and bird "faces" on their helmets. The 5 removed their helmets' visors to reveal 4 men(one African-American, two Asian and one Caucasian) and a woman(Hispanic). They all had advance weapons, which they put away. "Don't worry, Rangers.", the African-American said as they pulled their visors down again. "We Armoured Rangers will take it from here."

The 5 engaged Kurorg using a set of swords, boomerangs and guns, with one of them using the sword as if it was a hammer he was preparing to throw ala a bad comedy act. But the other 4 were able to effectively use their weapons to fend off Kurorg, before pulling out a bazooka and using it to blast the Hybrasect into a pool of cold water, which caused the body to fall apart. "That's what happens when you put a hot rock in cold water", the guy who had been fake hammer throwing commented, as if expecting laughs. Fortunately, none came.

"This is not over.", Tann growled before teleporting out.

The old Rangers ran over to the the new ones. "No-one told me about another Ranger team on Earth.", Mark said, perplexed at the situation.

"Are we being replaced?", Lulu asked, legitimately worried.

Then their communicators beeped, with General Alex on the other end. "Sorry to surprise you like this, Rangers. I'd like to explain the new Armoured Rangers to you, but first, how about you get back to base?"

"Yeah, that monster ain't gonna be a problem anymore.", the Afri-Am (short for African-American, because I couldn't be bothered to type the whole thing again) Armoured Ranger said, leading everyone back to base. However, none noticed that within the pool, the Hybrasect prevailed.

"Those fools", the big commented. "They thought me done for, but all they did was redistribute the heat energy within my body." The bug laughed as it began to reassemble.

* * *

Back at the Nest, General Alex introduced his new Armoured Rangers. "You see, I've been watching my former soldier's work on this project for a while and it gave me an idea. 'What if we took the basic concept of you Flying Rangers and improved on the concept, making them more indestructible?' So, with the aid of some spare power cores Gordon had left lying around, I created the next generation of America's defenders."

"We're supposed to defend the whole world, not just America.", Mark pointed out.

Alex ignored him as he continued. "So, now I think since your powers are gone, you should meet your replacements." The Afro-Am man stepped forward. "Victor Hardrock."

"Call me 'Vic'.", Vic insisted as he reached out for a handshake, which Mark accepted out of politeness.

"Benny Clark Simeon." The Asian guy who had tried to be funny earlier stepped forward.

"I guess you could say that the power and responsibility is on our plating now.", Benny Clark said, once again expecting laughs.

"That's not funny.", Lulu said.

"Nicky Simonson."

"I just want you to know I respect your work, Dr. Burley.", Nicky said. "I hope I can live up to the standard you set."

"Good luck with that one.", Wayne responded. "You're looking at a guy who fought until midnight to put out the sun."

"Michael Koon."

"Yorokonde to meet you, Carrie-chan.", Michael said, leaning down to kiss Carrie's hand.

"Excuse me?", Carrie said, pulling her hand away.

"I'm half-Japanese.", Michael clarified.

"You don't say."

General Alex then introduced the final member of his team. "And last, but by no means least, Antonia Montana."

Mark interrupted. "Your new team is all well and good, sir. But are you sure they can handle the same duties we've been pulling off for months?"

Before General Alex could answer, the alarm sounded. "Sir, the Hybrasect's reappeared as a giant in the city."

General Alex thought, before answering the question. "Tell you what. If my team can't stop this creature from wrecking havoc, how about I use their generators to restore your powers?"

Vic stepped forward at this. "Sir, are you sure? If I lose this job, I'm not going to pick up women as easily."

Michael stopped him. "Not the best priorities there, Hardrock. There's a dai mondai in progress. We need to stop it." Carrie once more winced internally are the gratuitous (and incorrect) use of her mother's native language.

As the 5 went out to battle Kurorg, Mark decided. "In the meantime, how about we ask our former leader some questions?" Everyone nodded and headed out, but Carrie stopped when she saw something. Particularly, the names "Hayato Moboroshi" and "Mohammed Nanak" on Alex's resource sheets.

* * *

Elsewhere, Tann watched from the mountains as Kurorg continued to destroy the city. "Excellent. Continue to crush this planet until that new ranger team comes out." As he walked, he heard a chink sound. He looked down to see blue chunks within the rock, which he recognised. "My sister's power sapphire. But how?" He picked up the pieces and pocketed them.

* * *

The Armoured Rangers flew out to the city in the Ranger Vehicles, in their first use since the Kodokor attack. "Alright team, let's see what sort of power these babies have.", Vic declared.

"Hopefully not just crying.", Benny Clark declared.

Within a few minutes, the 5 came face to face with Kurorg. "Let's get him with our stray shots.", Vic declared, unaware of what a stray shot actually was. He and Nicky then executed Mark and Wayne's Whirlwind Atrack, knocking Kurorg back slightly. Benny Clark then used the Swallow Plane's Bomber Mode to attack with the boomerang wing. "Now let's bring these together."

**Action Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Icarus Megazord! Take Off! Go, Go!**

"Flock together! Icarus Megazord!"

The newly formed Icarus then engaged Kurorg, only to find itself on the losing end of the fight, with the Beak Daggers and the AviMace being ineffective against the Hybrasect. The Armoured team tried using the Icarus Saber, only for Kurorg to break it on impact. "We can still fight without it, right?", Antonia asked.

"Don't worry, daijōbu.", Michael assured her. "We've got the strongest machine on the planet here. Of course we're gonna win."

But they didn't. The broken sword proved ineffective, with Kurorg using it to slash off the Icarus' left arm and knocking it down. On the ground, a figure noticed the battle, with confusion. "Why aren't the Rangers using the Robot we gave them? Gordon must be off her head." He then turned and ran towards the direction of the Nest, looking for answers.

* * *

And at the Nest, Mark and the others had filled Gordon in on the situation, but "I'm aware.", she told them. "These 'Armoured Rangers' are probably a group of flu kids that Alexander brainwashed into his flunkies through his methods."

"How do you figure that?", Carrie asked.

"Because we went through the same thing.", Steven was the one who answered. "I remember now. Back when he was a Colonel, Alexander was the superior officer of Gordon and I. He led us on the mission in South Korea with intent to loot anything valuable that the alien within the ship had by killing them."

"But Gordon resisted orders.", said the older woman. "She knew that the alien was non-malicious in her intent and sided with her. When Alexander tried to do the job himself, Marvin tried to stop him and was accidentally thrown into the warp drive following a struggle. The warp drive made his body disappear, until I found it 2 years ago, in Kuwait. The warp drive had thrown him forward in time, with his mind broken by the experience."

"So General Alexander's been a dirty snake way longer than recently.", Mark noted.

"I've already sent the names of two of his providers to a friend of my father's.", said Carrie. But then she realised something Gordon had said. "You just said 'Gordon' as if referring to someone else entirely."

"Yeah.", Mark realised. "Who are you? You've been lying about who you truly are since we all met you. You knew the truth about Steven, and you took advantage of all of us to help fight your battle for you."

Gordon sighed. "I guess there's no point in continuing this facade. I'll tell you the truth. You deserve it." But before anything else could happen, they saw the Icarus being felled on the screen. "This reveal will have to wait. You have to take the Falcon Corde and help them defeat that Hadaruga."

Mark sighed. "Okay, team. Let's head out there and save them." Everyone ran out of the cell and into the launch bay, where they entered the Falcon and manned the controls. "We've never launched this thing manually before. Do you think we can do it?"

"It can't be that difficult.", Wayne assured him. "It's just like our old training to use the Vehicles. They even have similar mechanisms." Lulu remembered how similar the simulated combatants were to the Bio-Roids when she heard that statement. She started to think about it but was interrupted by the sound of the standby announcement.

**Get Set, Ready? Dashing, Dashing, Dashing! Dashing, Dashing, Dashing!** (Dashing is repeated multiple times)

"I'm not sorry to have missed out on this sound.", Mark commented as he depressed the launch mechanism.

**Goooo! F-F-F-Falcon!**

* * *

In the city, Kurorg once more swung the Icarus around, before breathing fire at it, knocking it down once again. "Isn't there anything we can do?", Nicky asked.

"We're missing twenty percent of the Icarus and one of our weapons.", Antonia stated. "We're done for."

At that moment, Kurorg was distracted by the arrival of the Falcon Megazord, which kicked him back before tending to the downed Icarus. "All life signs present and accounted for.", Carrie noted. "They're okay."

The Hybrasect tried to say "But you're not.", but without any vocal chords within the Hadaruga body, it could only growl. It then fired beams at the Falcon, sending it reeling.

Inside, the Rangers were buffeted by the force. "It's not as comfortable when we aren't morphed.", Lulu complained.

"Never mind that now.", Mark said semi-dismissively. "We need to focus on stopping that thing.

After he said that, Kurorg breathed fire at the Falcon, before once more bombarding it with the same energy as before. The new Armoured Rangers could only watch as their backup was close to being soundly thrashed.

* * *

In case anyone can't tell, the new Ranger team is a jab at Eiga Sentai Scanranger. I'd explain how, but maybe you'd like to search that fic yourself and see why.


	23. Armoured Rangers 2: Attack on the Nest

_Last time on Power Rangers Wing Force, Group captain June Gordon was detained on trumped up charges by her former superior Lt. General Demetrius Alexander. After Tann's monster made from the DNA of the space creature known as a Hadaruga drains the Flying Rangers of their powers, General Alex replaces them with his own Armoured Rangers, who he promises to retire if they fail to fully defeat the monster, dubbed 'Kurorg' by Wayne. However in the ensuing battle, the Armoured Rangers and the Icarus Megazord are trounced by Kurorg. The now powerless Flying Rangers come to the rescue in the Falcon Megazord, but they too are having trouble with the Hybrasect. Will our heroes survive this gruelling encounter? Will they get their lost powers returned? And who is Group captain Gordon really? Find out in this exciting episode of Power Rangers Wing Force._

* * *

At the Nest, the guard on duty, one Private Rozum, newly brought to the facility by General Alex, found a blonde man in civilian clothing approaching the location. He stopped the man before he could get much further. "Do you have a pass, sir? Rozum asked.

"I don't have time to bother with your human security methods.", the man yelled. "I need to get inside the Nest to deliver a warning."

Rozum still didn't budge. "That may be, but nobody gets inside this place without a pass. How about you give me a message to pass on?"

"That would take too long. I need to get in there and tell June Gordon of the situation."

Hearing Gordon's name made Rozum smile. "In that case, follow me mister. I'll take you to June Gordon."

He led the man into the facility, leading him to the cell where Gordon was imprisoned before throwing him inside and sealing the door. "What's the meaning of this?", the man yelled, banging on the door. "Let me out."

"It's no use.", Gordon assured him. "Even if you could break the door down, most of the soldiers are under the orders of Lt. General Alexander. He'd still lock you up for associating with me." She then got a good look at the man. "You're one of those Avions that loaned us the Falcon Corde. What was your name?"

"It's Gliderak.", came the answer. "So why are you in this cell, Commander Gordon? Did they find out whatever big secret Avior was always saying you had? He seemed to make it out as a pretty big deal."

"I assure you, my confinement is nothing to do with the truth I've kept hidden from everyone. And as for my secret, I suppose the Rangers aren't the only ones who deserve the truth." With that, Gordon was surrounded by a green glow, which cleared to reveal something that shocked Gliderak.

* * *

Out in the city. The Rangers were still being trounced by Kurorg. "Armour intensity is holding, but it won't last forever.", Carrie reported. "We need to do something, or we're done for."

Kurorg successfully overpowered the Falcon and sent it falling to the ground. "We're out of options.", Mark said. "Time to bring out the big guns."

**Vehicle Shift, On! Boxer! Take Off! Go, Go!**

As Kurorg began to crush the Falcon into submission with his foot, he was stopped in his tracks by the arrival of Dash Boxer, who successfully knocked the Hybrasect away and began grappling with him. The fight was an even one for the most part, but when Boxer tried to do a flying punch, Kurorg intercepted and knocked him to the ground. "Well that made a difference.", Wayne said sarcastically.

"I didn't intend for Dash Boxer to beat that thing alone.", Mark said. "I was just testing a theory, one that seems to be correct." He then pressed a different button on his display.

**Falcombine!**

The Dash Boxer turned into its cannon form and flew into the hands of the recovering Falcon, who levied it against the Hybrasect. "Dash Cannon Burst!" The Falcon fired its new weapon at Kurorg, vaporising his body except for the orb in his chest.

In their cockpit, the Armoured Rangers breathed a sigh of relief. "We did it.", Vic declared. "We defeated that thing."

"We barely did anything.", Nicky yelled. "The old Rangers saved our butts out there."

"It was our battle, wast it?", Benny Clark suggested. "Therefore, we won it."

"Anyway," Michael suggested "let's just pick up that Ishi that bakemono dropped."

In the Falcon, Carrie noticed a message on her pager. "It's from my contact Seymour.", she said. "This could be what I asked him to find."

Before she could play it, the computer beeped, with the voice of General Alex on the other side. "Everyone, get back to base now."

"We'll have to play it on the way back.", Mark told her. "Let's get there before he does something disproportionate."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Tann threw a glass object at the floor. "I was so close. The Hadaruga Hybrasect had both Ranger teams at his mercy. Now it's gone and we've lost track of his sphere, so we can't revitalise it."

"They'll be taking it back to their base, known as the Nest.", "Halatia" said. "They have a room where they can store it, which is probably where they stored the Hybrasect they defeated earlier." Then Mary covered her mouth, realising she had said too much.

Algrin smiled upon hearing this, having finally managed to gather what a brain-scraping session could not. "Should I prepare an army to attack them while they recuperate, my Emperor?"

"Not yet.", Tann said. "While your idea is admirable, I think it wise to have Halatia here restore the Hadaruga first by sneaking into the base." He then brandished his sword at her neck. "Especially if she wishes to remain alive and in my favour."

"Halatia" gulped. "By your command, it shall be done.", she said before walking out of the room.

As she did so, Galvahex followed her. "Why did you agree to follow his orders? I thought you were advocating a choice."

"Like you said, some of us don't have that choice.", was Mary's response. "We do what we're made to do, or face decommissioning." With that said, she teleported down to her apartment on Earth and undid her transformation, to begin her mission.

* * *

At the Nest, General Alex had both teams of Rangers assembled in the control centre. "Now then, I said earlier that if my team couldn't handle the situation, I'd give yours their powers back."

"I sense a 'but' coming.", whispered Lulu.

"Silence!", General Alex called out. "Since the emergency I sent the Armoured Rangers to handle was resolved, they shall be keeping their powers."

"What?", Wayne called out.

"That's outrageous.", Steven agreed.

Antonia merely smiled smugly. "That's what you get when we handled the problem."

"That's crazy.", Nicky couldn't hold his frustration in anymore. "The Flying Rangers saved our asses out there. And now you're just going to throw them in the trash in favour of us, a bunch of rookies?"

Alex wasn't happy to hear this. "Simonson, you will stand down."

"No I won't.", Nicky practically yelled. "These guys are the real heroes. We're just a bunch of stiffs you dragged off the streets and gave some suits."

"Suits made of stolen parts.", Carrie stated. "My friend Seymour found out that two of your providers, Hayato Moboroshi and Mohammed Nanak are members of large Asian crime syndicates, both part of groups trying to bring down the American government." This shocked everyone in the room, including the General. "You don't like to hear your treason exposed, do you General Alex."

"My full title is Lt. General Demetrius Alexander.", the man said through grinding teeth.

"That's a bit of a mouthful for a traitor, isn't it?", Lulu snarked.

"Don't worry, I think when they find out the truth, the Lt. General will have to change his name.", Wayne commented.

"They won't find out. Guard!", Alex yelled. Sergeant Brent entered the room. "These people are traitors to this project. Take them away and lock them up with the ex-Group captain." Brent was reluctant, but nonetheless complied. Mark briefly shook the Sergeant's hand before they were led off. Then General Alex turned towards Nicky. "And as for you, you're suspended for this project, pending retraining."

"Good.", was the only response he got. "I'd rather be off a team of poorly-prepped rookies than listen to you." With that, he stormed out.

* * *

Outside the base, a car pulled up to the same front gate that Gliderak had been detained at. Only the woman in this car had both a uniform and a pass. Said pass identified her as "Mary James, head of The Design team at Project: Jetman". "This all looks to be in order, Miss. You can go on through."

"Thank you.", Mary said in response, before driving on. She breathed a sigh of relief that her pass hadn't been disabled during her absence. It made the job that she had been tasked with much easier. Along the way to the freezer where the items she had come to retrieve most likely were, she saw the Rangers being escorted to a detention area. "So not only are your powers gone, but now you're dangerous prisoners? You really have a knack for getting into trouble, Mark." She then continued to the freezer, where, fortunately for her, the Hadaruga sphere and the frozen Hybrasect were still there. With no-one around, she turned back into Halatia and zapped the Hybrasect with energy, reviving it. But as she did this, the sphere was charged with runoff energy, which caused it to convulse and transform into an exact copy of the same monster.

"Kuuurrrooorrrrggggg!", the monster growled as it begun its rampage, smashing through the wall.

Mary sighed. "Well at least Tann won't kill me for failing to revive that thing. But now I've got a bug situation." She then saw the bug scuttling its way towards a hammer. "As long as it's not my handiwork.", she shrugged and left the room, heading for the detention cells.

* * *

And in said detention cells, Wayne was banging on the doors. "That won't do you any good, Dr. Burley.", Gliderak informed him. "Your Group captain assures you these doors are incredibly strong and resistant to any sound you might make."

Wayne stopped pounding and turned around. "Just great. So not only is the new general an asshole, but he's also a scumbag who locks us in this cell. Can this day get much worse?"

"Keep your hair on.", Mark said. "I'll see if I can pick the lock." He then pulled out a sewing needle and a pencil.

Steven was first to notice the apparent convenience. "Is there a reason you have a set of sewing equipment lying around in your pocket?"

It was Lulu that fielded the question. "Before he signed up for the Project, Mark wanted to be a fashion designer. He still fixes up our clothes sometimes."

Gordon looked forlorn upon hearing this. "And deep down, I bet he still holds onto the dream I tore away from him when I dragged him into my war. I've been fighting it for so long I've become blind to other people's hopes and wishes. I've even hid my identity from you for so long."

This brought everyone's attention back to the elephant in the room. "Yeah, who are you really?", Carrie asked. "You were about to tell us the truth of your identity last time, but you were interrupted. Can you tell us now?"

Before an answer could be given, an alarm sounded with a voice ringing over the intercom. "Alert! Alert! There is an intruder in the compound! All available officers are to try and deal with this problem!"

Everyone was shocked to hear this. "You need to get us out of here now, Mark.", Steven urged.

"I'm trying.", came the irritated response. But as Mark was working, the door opened, seemingly on its own. Everyone was shocked to see Halatia standing there. "How did you…?"

"No time to explain, Mark.", came Halatia's reply. "But for now, you've got to stop that thing." With that, she ran off, as quickly as she came. The Rangers and their allies took a moment to stare at this unusual event, before running off to find the intruder.

* * *

And elsewhere, the 4 remaining Armoured Rangers came face to face with Kurorg in the base's corridors. "I bought we already finished this thing once.", Antonia grumbled.

"Looks like we'll have to finish the job this time.", replied Vic, pulling out his boomerang and throwing it at Kurorg.

But instead of being harmed, the Hybrasect merely laughed off the hit, as it had done with those of the Flying Rangers. It then proceeded to begin draining the energies of the 4 Rangers. But nothing happened to them.

"Nice try, Bakemono.", Michael mocked. "But unlike our sempai, we have energy absorbers built into our suits to prevent you from leaching us dry. Our chikara aren't going anywhere." The fight resumed, but the Armoured Rangers were still losing.

* * *

In the control room, Nicky, who was watching the scene unfold, had a realisation. "That's it. That's how we can give the Rangers their powers back."

He tried running towards his suit, only for General Alex to stop him. "Belay that idea, son. You are not going to sabotage our team for your own fantasies."

"Sir, with all due respect," Nicky said, before punching the General out cold "SHUT UP!" He then opened his suit's control panel, removed the power core and the absorber, and ran off.

* * *

In another part of the complex, the Flying Rangers' party found Kurorg, who had finished beating up the Armoured team and continued his rampage. "How is this thing still alive?", Steven asked.

"That "thing" is made using a Hadaruga.", Gliderak answered. "As long as their sphere survives, they can be reborn as long as they have a large influx of energy. Someone must've picked up the sphere and brought it here."

"And then some other idiot must've given it enough of a charge to revive it.", Mark concluded. "Looks like we'll have to break his orb this time."

He and the other Rangers tried running forward, but Gliderak stopped them. "You don't have your powers. And these things have wiped out entire cities singlehanded. I'll buy you some time to get away." He then turned into his Avion form and ran forward to engage Kurorg. The two grappled briefly, before the Hybrasect got the better of his opponent and began draining him.

Gordon stopped and looked back. "You five go on. I'll stay behind and help him."

"You?", exclaimed Carrie with mild disbelief. "On your own."

"You weren't meant to find out this way.", Gordon said. "But the time it would be best has long passed." She then surrounded herself with a green glow, which cleared to reveal a humanoid bird, with a long neck, a secondary face underneath its head, large talons on its arms and green feathers.

Mark had a realisation. "You were the alien in that ship."

"Now is not the time, Mark.", the alien said back. "For now, get to safety. I'll hold off the Hadaruga." And so, the being they had once known as June Gordon went to fight off the Hybrasect, leaving the 5 Rangers to continue their flight through the base.

"What do we do now?", Lulu asked. "We've lost our powers, we're losing our allies and if this Hybrasect is any indication, the Dominion could launch a full scale attack at any time."

"I think I could help you with that first problem.", said an arriving Nicky, holding out his power core and energy absorber. "Plus if one of you will allow me to demonstrate, I can also give your bracelets an upgrade to prevent this energy loss from happening again."

Carrie held out her arm for him to demonstrate. Nicky opened up the panel on top and removed the burnt out power core. He then placed his brand new one inside with the absorber attached. After the panel had been closed, Carrie tried morphing again. "Let's Fly!" The process worked this time, transforming her into the White Ranger. "You wouldn't happen to have any more of these, would you?"

"I don't.", Nicky said shaking his head. "But I have some friends who do."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Tann laughed at how well the situation was turning out. "Not only is my creation living up to his potential, but we've discovered the location of the Ranger's base. Well done, Halatia. I'll make sure your name is mentioned in the honours list."

"Thank you.", "Halatia" said nervously.

Algrin then stepped forward. "Can I assemble that army now, Sir?"

"Yes you can.", said Tann smugly. Even if the Hybrasect fails, we can still claim victory this day."

* * *

Elsewhere, Vic Hardrock woke up from his unconscious state to find that the old Rangers were doing something with his comrades' chest units. And Nicky was helping them. "Hey, what're you guys doing?", he said, straightening himself.

"Oh not much.", the old black said casually. "We're just taking your power cores to replace our own and claiming your energy absorbers for good measure."

Sure enough, he took some of Antonia's gear out and gave it to the old red. They then moved onto Michael, who woke up and saw what they were doing. "Matsu!", he called out, only to be knocked out again by the White Ranger.

"This guy's been annoying me with his overuse of Japanese all day.", she said. "He may be half-Japanese, but so am I. And you don't see me dropping random foreign words at bad times." She then took out his core and gave it to her Yellow teammate (by colour, not by race). They then moved on to Benny Clark.

Like with his friend, the feeling as they touched his body caused Benny Clark to wake up. "Who ah, I didn't do anything, Officer."

Lulu quickly shut him up again. "That's probably the funniest thing he's said all day.", she said taking his equipment for herself.

Wayne, the only one who hadn't received his powers back, then turned to Vic. "And then there was one."

Vic became defensive. "Don't do this man. You had your shot to save the world and you blew it."

"Funny, that's exactly what we were going to say to you.", was Wayne's reply as he knocked Vic out again. He then took out his core and absorber, inserting it into his bracelet. "That's all of us restored, so now what do we do?"

"What we always do.", Mark said in response. "We save the Earth and defeat the enemy."

Nicky saluted the 5. "I know you can do it."

* * *

Back in the corridor, Gordon and Gliderak were losing against the against the immense strength displayed by Kurorg. His energy draining abilities were also contributing to their defeat. "I can't… hold out… much longer.", Gliderak wheezed.

"We have to.", his comrade said in response. "We're the last hope we have of fighting this thing."

Don't be so sure." The 5 Rangers all leapt in and individually attacked the Hybrasect knocking it back. "We can handle it from here.", Mark said.

The 5 stepped forward and activated their bracelets, calling out "Lets Fly!". The familiar wireframe surrounded the 5, turning them once more into their Ranger forms. Kurorg tried to attack, only to be hit from behind by the sudden arrival of the Rover Launcher.

**Cannon Mode!**

"Let's hit him with a low power shot.", Mark insisted. "We can't risk damaging the base any more." As such, he filled the weapon only with his own energy.

**Red Charge! Firebird Shot!**

The blast knocked the Red Ranger backwards, but it had the desired effect. Namely, it launched Kurorg out of the base with a massive inrush of energy. Lulu nodded at this. "Now we just have to go and find that thing to destroy it." Everyone in the team moved out.

Gordon, who had been watching the whole scene in disbelief, turned back into her human form and pulled out a miniature radio. "Ratcliffe, Caldwell, are you there?"

"We're both here.", said the voice on the other side. "It's good to hear from you again, Ma'am. We've been looking into the General's claim and apparently he was never given any go-ahead to take over the project."

"Never mind that now. The Nest has been compromised and the Dominion will be on their way here soon. Get everything valuable out of here and move out to the city of Winter Valley. Begin moving the vehicles to the air base 5 miles away."

* * *

Outside, Kurorg tumbled backwards as the 5 Rangers stood before him. He tried zapping them with his rays again, but they had no effect. "We've made a few adjustments since you last fought us.", Mark said.

"Our energy is going nowhere, but towards your destruction.", Wayne continued.

The 5 then charged at Kurorg, attacking him with their Sky Enforcers. Mark went first, landing a flying punch on the Hybrasect. Then Wayne did a corkscrew attack, which was repeated by Lulu. Then finally, Steven and Carrie fires at him using their Burst Modes. Then all 5 pulled out their Beak Blasters and AviAttackers, preparing their Sonic Smashers.

_Fire Attack, Set Up! Strike Out!_

The five blasts hit Kurorg at once, destroying his body in the process. However, the Hybrasect had been reconstituted with the Hadaruga part and was able to regenerate the body as a giant. "We need the Icarus.", Mark called into his communicator.

**Take Off! Go, Go!**

The Megazord, which had been repaired since its previous clash with Kurorg, now stood in the centre of the city. "We need to destroy his gem this time.", said Mark. "Let's go."

Kurorg began by breathing fire at the Icarus again, which briefly fazed it. Mark the summoned the Icarus' Wing Axe, using it to deliver a series of slashes to the Hybrasect, before he caught on and used the slashes against them. "We need more power. Falcon Megazord!"

**F-F-F-Falcon!**

Mark nodded. "Alright, let's combine the power of these two."

**Miracle Falcombine!**

**Ultimate Action Shift, On! Hawk Flier! Condor Zoom! Owl Jet! Swan Sonic! Swallow Plane! Falcon Corde! Birdonic Ultrazord! Take Off! Go, Go, GO!"**

The Birdonic Ultrazord now stood before Kurorg, who fired his beams at it, only for the titanic robot to walk through them. "Black Hole Crusher!" The Ultrazord then fired its twin beams, which began compressing Kurorg.

"Aaaaaarrrrggghhh!", the Hybrasect cried out as it was reduced to nothing, not even the sphere was left untouched this time. "Alright team.", Mark said. "Let's go home."

* * *

However, when they set the vehicles to take them home, instead of the Nest, they found themselves in the abandoned air base where they had trained to use the vehicles. "What're we doing here?", asked Lulu. "Shouldn't we be back at the base?"

"This is the new base." Everyone turned around to see Group captain Gordon, accompanied by Gliderak and his mate Aluze. "Since a Hybrasect ended up inside the base, we've relocated our equipment to this location to avoid the coming attack."

Steven had a realisation. "I've seen your alien form before. I remember now. You were in the ship when Colonel Alex attacked. But wasn't Gordon there as well?"

"You won't have to worry about General Alex anymore.", the Group captain assured them. "Thanks to testimony from Nicky Simonson and an anonymous tip form someone named 'Seymour', he's going to jail for treason, colluding with terrorists, false arrests, breaking military code, murder and brainwashing. I'd be surprised if he didn't end up on death row."

"What about all those troops under his command?", Carrie asked. "The worst they did was associate with him."

Captain Rolfe entered to answer that. "They've been declared unfit for duty. We're going to spend some time rehabilitating them into fully functioning members of society, then we're going to see what they want to do with their lives."

Gordon resumed talking. "Now then, as I was saying before, the real June Gordon took a bullet from Colonel Alexander that was intended for me. To honour her sacrifice, I took her appearance and resumed her life, using it to help me prepare for when the Dominion turned their attention towards this planet."

"Just one question.", Wayne interrupted. "If the real June Gordon died, then who are you?"

Aluze fielded that question. "She's someone important to the free people of the universe, for giving them the resolve to continue fighting back against the Dominion. She is the one who brought our people the technology that helped our people continue fighting when all seemed lost."

Gliderak decided to take over from this overly long introduction and get to the point. "She is Jangar."

No-one among the Rangers knew what they were talking about, except for Mark. "You mean THAT Jangar?", he said, remembering what he had heard about the legendary saviour from van Lyden and Avior.

"The very same, Mark Goodman.", Gordon, or rather Jangar said nodding. "I bet you didn't expect that to come out, didn't you?"


	24. Prelude to Destruction

"Where are they?!", Tann screamed a she crashed his way through the doors of the facility known as the Nest. "The Hadaruga's sinal definitely came from this position. If not the Rangers, one of their support staff should be here."

It was Galvahex who answered that question. "If nothing else, the Rangers are resourceful. It is doubtful they would simply sit idly by while we prepare to instigate a massive attack on their headquarters. It seems likely that they took advantage of our distraction to escape elsewhere."

"But where?", Tann yelled. "Where could those fools have relocated to that eluded our detection?" He had turned around to address this question to Halatia.

"If I knew the answer to that, you'd be there right now crushing them beneath your heel.", was the woman's answer.

Before the Emperor could get any angrier, he received a message. It was from Fwelf, the ship's former junior technical officer, since reassigned elsewhere. "My Lord, we have completed work on the special project and the humans have been moved to the appropriate position you ordered."

Tann smiled at this news. "Ah, excellent. Then we should be able to crush this planet within hours."

But Fwelf merely shook his head. "Actually no. Even with the help of the human workers, we have barely enough power to move an arm, let alone launch it across space. We can teleport it to you, but you'll have to fuel it up yourself." With that said, he signed off.

Tann was angry, but he didn't show it well. "Since we have an army of Bio-Roids and U-Clones here already, we may as well use it. Send them out into the city to gather civilians."

"Are you sure?", Galvahex asked. "An Attack on the populace would likely draw more attention from the Rangers."

"Just do it!", the Emperor yelled. Both of the subordinates took a step backwards and nodded, before leaving with the gathered army. "And while I AM here, I might as well secure the security recordings before razing this place."

* * *

Elsewhere, in the meeting room of the Lowfall Apartments building, Mark Goodman had assembled the Flying Ranger team, consisting of his sister Lulu, Dr. Wayne Burley, Medical Officer Caroline Brown, Marvin Hinton (alias Steven Hartford), Group captain June Gordon (recently revealed as the alien known as Jangar), Edward Ratcliffe and Jimmy Caldwell. Also present were their other alien allies Gliderak and Aluze, plus regular military members Captain Rolfe, Sergeant Rolfe, Corporal Jarvis and Private Dawson among others. It was Wayne out of all the assembled personnel who asked Mark the question on everyone's lips. "Why did you choose this place for us to meet?"

"That is a good question.", came the reply. "The answer is that after looking over the air base 5 times, I found it was missing two things. A place to monitor activity in the city and a half-decent meeting place. Then I realised that the place where I was staying had a large room that could effectively double as both. Namely, this room."

"It certainly seems like a good place for both.", Carrie said. "But aren't you worried that we might be discovered by someone walking in by accident?"

"Not gonna happen.", Captain Rolfe said. "At the rate of which the attacks are increasing in scope and severity, the President has given us orders to evacuate the whole civilian population after the next incident."

"Plus we've persuaded the manager to keep anyone from coming into the room when we're using it.", Lulu added.

Steven was intrigued. "How did you explain the whole -?"

"Leroy knows.", Mark interrupted to answer the question. "I told him.", he added to avoid any more complicated explanations.

"Well if all that's in order, we should get down to business.", Gordon said. "Now then, I'm sure that you all have a few questions."

"That's the understatement of the millennium.", Private Dawson pointed out. "I mean, you seem to be a normal Vietnam vet and now it turns out you're an alien? I'm not even sure where to begin with that."

"Indeed.", Aluze nodded. "You came to our planet, provided us with a few basic weapons and then fled through space, eventually ending up here. I would be grateful to know how that happened."

"The answer to that, is actually very simple, if we go back to my time on Avion Minor.", came the reply from Gordon, or rather Jangar. "While I was there, I went out to face an army that was marching on a town of farmers. While waiting for an ambush, I overheard a pair of grunts talking about Uuhcura's next target."

"I assume you're referring to Earth.", Mark guessed.

"Exactly. Against my better judgment, I left those villagers to their fate and made my way to Earth. However, on the way I collided with a satellite being launched into the atmosphere. I crash-landed in the South Korean jungle, where I was sighted by the US Army, in particular Colonel Alex."

"I can tell you what happened next.", Steven said taking over. "He led a special group, consisting of myself and the real June Gordon into the jungle to find the ship. However, in the process we discover Alex's real motivation for the salvage mission: trying to find something to overthrow the world's governments. When we found Jangar in there, the Colonel tried to kill her, but I intervened. In the process, I was thrown into what I know now was the ship's warp drive and ended up 22 years and several thousand miles away, with no memory of what happened beforehand."

"That's simply because the warp drive wasn't made to be entered like that.", Gordon said resuming the explanation. "Anyway, the real June Gordon died taking a shot aimed at me. In order to repay her for her kindness, and to continue helping this planet defend itself, I assumed her face and then began working on what would be known as the Flying Rangers. I based the idea off of legends I had heard about the legendary heroes of the universe from my mother. In your language, their name translates as "Power Rangers."

Lulu thought about that name. "I think that Kuroden creep might have mentioned something about "Power Rangers", but he never elaborated on it in detail."

"They're a pretty big deal in the rest of the Galaxy. But on this planet, I had to come up with the "Flying Rangers" moniker to get the project taken seriously. I even had to leave the word "Megazord" off the names of the plans for our giant robots."

"So that's where that word comes from.", Steven said, in a tone that invoked "Oh, so that's how it works."

Mark then decided to ask a question. "You've done so much to protect planets you have no reason to protect? Why do it?"

At this, Gordon hung her head. "Because my planet Avion Major was lost to the Dominion. Since then, I've been trying to make sure that other planets avoid that fate."

Before the conversation could continue further, a beeping sound came from a small computer that Caldwell and Ratcliffe were monitoring. "Captain, there's a large concentration of enemy troops in the city."

"Bio-Roids or U-Clones?", Carrie asked.

"Both.", came Ratcliffe's response. "They're attacking civilians and teleporting out with them."

"Alright team, let's move out.", Mark instructed. The other Rangers nodded and left the room.

"Don't let them take all the credit.", Captain Rolfe told his men. "We need to go out and do what we can."

"Sir!" The rest of the soldiers saluted and moved out under their captain's orders.

"I just hope everyone makes it out of this.", Gordon said to the two Avions.

* * *

Aboard his ship, Tann was admiring his new weapon. It was a giant robot, about the same size as the Icarus and the Falcon, but with twice as much power as both. It was covered in spikes and generally looked intimidating. "Soon, my creation. The Flying Rangers will fall before your might."

As he walked away, Algrin watched, accompanied by Galvahex and Halatia. "Let the baby have his bottle.", Algrin said mockingly. "Thanks to the security recordings from the Rangers' former headquarters, I have discovered that there is a surviving Keiam on the Ranger's support team."

"But how?", Galvahex asked. "The planet of Avion Major was sterilised of all living matter when they became too much of a liability. You and I were both there, Lord Algrin."

"I know that, you fool.", Algrin snapped. "But in my travels, I acquired a parasite that could destroy the DNA of Avion system inhabitants completely. And it can track, sneak in and take out the Keiam without being detected. Come forth, my Mekros" (note: pronounced mee-crows)

A leech-like creature with twin drills on its arms emerged from the ground snarling. It nodded in response to its given task and teleported out, in search of its prey.

* * *

In the city, the Rangers were dealing with the enemy troops rounding up the citizens. "What do you think's brought about this attack?", Steven asked as he slashed at a few Bio-Roids, escorting the children they were menacing to safety.

In order to deal more effectively with the problem, the 5 had gone off on their own to cover more ground. As such, all responses were over their communicators. "Who knows?", was Carrie's response. "Given that they've never been this aggressive before, I assume that Tann must have something big planned."

"But what could require this many people?", Lulu said, as she took out some U-Clones with her Hyper Cannon.

"Best guess is something really terrible, if it requires this many people.", Wayne answered as he delivered a Sky-Enforcer aided, tachyon powered punch, which blew up the Bio-Roid it hit.

"Whatever it is, we have to make sure they don't succeed.", Mark said as he slashed his group of combatants. "Unless it's already too late."

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, the Mekros, having shifted to a much smaller size, flew through the city in search of its target, looking out for the scent of a Keiam. She may have cloaked herself, but it could make out the distinct whiff of the species, coming from a block of apartments. It flew in, finding its target, flying inside her body and striking.

* * *

In the city, Corporal Jarvis led his squad into battle with a group of Bio-Roids. "Okay troops, make sure to take out as many enemy combatants as possible.", the Corporal commanded. The troops complied unloading their rifles at the Bio-Roids, cutting them down. However, when faced with the U-Clones, their ammo proved ineffective. "Keep firing.", Jarvis yelled.

"It's no good.", said one of the troops. "Weapons are ineffective." Before anything else could be done to rectify this, the U-Clones overwhelmed and captured the entire squad.

* * *

Elsewhere, Carrie had just finished taking down another group of Bio-Roids, when she received a call on her communicator. "Alright Captain, what is it this time? A giant tomato terrorising children?"

But the voice on the other end wasn't Gordon's. Nor was it Ratcliffe's or Caldwell's. It was Aluze's. "White Ranger, Jangar has been struck down by an unknown force. We need you to help discover the cause and cure it."

Carrie was shocked to hear this. "Get her to the air base. There's a medical centre, where I'll meet up with you. Over and out." Having signed off, Carrie then proceeded to call the other Rangers. "Guys, there's something wrong with the Commander. You'll have to make do without me for a while."

* * *

Later, at the air base, Carrie had placed Jangar, now reverted back to her natural appearance, under an x-ray. "This is going to be difficult, since I don't really know much about the Group captain's physiology.", she told them. As the x-rays printed, she say a black dot within the pelvic region. "Is this normal for people in your star system?"

"It isn't.", Aluze assured her. "If anything, it's a parasite that's taking her apart from within. And given the symptoms, only one fits the bill."

Gliderak nodded. "A Mekros. They almost wiped out Avion Minor thousands of years ago, but we were able to find an paracide that could wipe them out. Unfortunately, the formula for it is lost to the ages."

"You mean there's no way for us to save her life?", Carrie asked.

Aluze had an idea. "When we were working on the Falcon Corde, she had to repair microcircuits that were normally inaccessible. So we had a shrinking ray created to handle those repairs. We might have one still stored away in the ship, but it's too risky."

"Why? Surely anything that can be done is worth trying."

"Because the effect is temporary. After a few minutes, the shrunken object returns to normal and will explode if it doesn't have enough room to do so within a 3 kilometre radius. There's no guarantee that you'll find the Mekros before you return to normal.", Aluze informed her.

Hearing that, Carrie had an idea. "A normal human might not be able to find it, but what about a giant robot? Could we send the Icarus in there to find and remove the Mekros?"

Aluze bought about this. "Theoretically, it's possible. But we'd need to make sure that Jangar is outside when the Icarus returns to normal size. Otherwise your friends will really be done for."

"We can handle that easily enough.", Carrie assured her, as she opened her communicator. "I just need to let the others know about the plan."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Tann noticed the Rangers retreating from town. "What's brought about this retreat?"

Halatia decided to answer him. "Algrin said he was going to release a parasite to target someone in their ranks. They must have discovered what happened and gone to help. Should I order the Bio-Roids to destroy them?"

Tann thought for a moment, then replied. "No, my new weapon will see to their destruction. Especially since we've collected more than enough humans for it." He noticed his underling's confused face. "You must be wondering what we need all these humans for. Well my dear, I suppose I owe you that much. They were your people after all."

The Emperor then pressed a button on his gauntlet, teleporting the two into a chamber. In the chamber were multiple humans, some of whom Mary recognised from the crew of Space Station Garuda, like Lefee and van Lyden. Others were the people taken from the city, such as Corporal Jarvis' squad. "What're all these people for?", asked "Halatia".

"Why to power the robot of course.", Tann answered her. "On your planet, they have an expression, don't they? 'Giving your life for the cause'? Well these people will give their life essence to power up my new robot. With this added power, it shall be twice as strong as the Icarus robot, with none of the weaknesses."

Mary gulped at hearing this. "Do you have a name for this robot?", she asked.

"Indeed I do. Just as you named the Ranger's mighty robot the Icarus, after one who touched the heavens, I have chosen a name from one who entered the depths of the underworld and lived to tell the tale. My robot is known as 'Orpheus'."

* * *

Down on Earth, Mark, Wayne, Steven and Lulu had assembled and entered the Icarus as the shrinking ray was prepared. "So do you guys know what the plan is?"

"Get inside Gordon's body, find this parasite and get it out into the open so we can destroy it.", Steven said.

"It's not exactly a hard plan to remember.", Lulu added.

Wayne was next to chip in. "I have one question. What aren't you going with us to stop this thing?"

"I need to stay out here and monitor your position.", was Carrie's answer. "As soon as you get it out of the Group captain's body, I'll join you in the Falcon."

"I think we've got everything in order now.", Mark said over the radio. "Commence the shrinking process."

"Roger.", Aluze replied as she operated the machine. "Directing device towards target. Commencing miniaturisation process in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Process beginning." The shrinking machine hit the Icarus, reducing it to a smaller size.

Gliderak then scooped up the tiny Icarus into a hypodermic needle and injected it into the bloodstream of Jangar. "Okay, they're inside her body. What do we do now?"

"Now, you two have to get her outside so they can escape.", Carrie instructed. "I'll stay here and monitor their progress from here."

* * *

Inside Gordon's body, the Icarus made its way through the blood towards the site where they had registered the parasite. "Alright, it's just up ahead.", Mark told the others. "Be ready for anything."

As the Icarus continued its search, it was ambushed by the Mekros, which plunged its drills into the robot's back, buffeting everyone. "I wasn't ready for that.", Lulu said sheepishly.

The two faced off, with the Mekros launching a bolt of thunder from its mouth, which buffeted them further. "We need to finish this thing fast.", Mark stated. "Icarus Saber!"

The robot tied striking its opponent with its main weapon, only to be met with nothing for their efforts. "He deflected all of them.", Steven announced.

"More likely the Icarus Saber wasn't made to be used in this environment.", Wayne noted.

Mekros continued its attack, knocking the Icarus out of the bloodstream, through a green-coloured artery into the stomach. "You can't say I'm not keeping up with my biology lessons in all this.", Lulu commented.

"Alright, where are we?", Mark asked.

Outside the Icarus, the robot's shell started to dissolve. "I'd say we're in the stomach.", Wayne said in response. "And we're the food."

"Let's get out of here before we end up coming out the wrong end of the body.", Steven said. The Icarus then pushed its way out of the stomach back towards the area of the bloodstream where Mekros was still waiting for them. The fight resumed, with Mekros grabbing the robot and draining its energy.

"We don't have much power left.", Lulu reported.

"Don't worry, we're about to teleport out, hopefully with this thing in toll.", Steven assured her.

* * *

Out in the city, Gliderak and Aluze had moved the prone body of Jangar to the abandoned mall. "What do we do now?", asked Gliderak.

"Now, we wait.", responded Aluze.

As she finished saying this, the Icarus teleported out and resumed normal size in the middle of the city. But Mekros had followed them out and was still draining energy. "We're about to go down.", Lulu reported. And sure enough, they did.

Algrin appeared in the city next to the two Avions. "This is better than I imagined. I set out to eliminate the Keiam and I end up defeating the Flying Rangers."

As the Mekros advanced on its prey to finish the 4, it was intercepted by a flying kick delivered by the Falcon Megazord. Inside, Carrie radioed a message to the others. "Sorry I'm late. But I'm about to show this freak not to mess with us or our friends."

Algrin growled at this. "Looks like I'll have to wait for the next time.", he said as he teleported out.

After a prolonged fight in her favour, Carrie hit the Mekros with the Birdonic Maser and then jumped into the air. "Scratch Break!" The Falcon initiated its finishing move, destroying the parasite once and for all. "Now that was a close one."

On the ground, Gordon woke up and resumed her human form. "What happened? The last thing I remember I think I was stung by a bee." The two Avions jumped for joy to see their legendary saviour was okay.

However, the Rangers were in less of a celebratory mood, noting the sudden appearance of thunderclouds on the horizon. "Something big is waiting to happen.", Mark said. "I can feel it."

* * *

Aboard the ship, Algrin fumed over his latest defeat as Tann approached. "Chin up, soldier. Thanks to your efforts, Orpheus is complete and ready to move out." As he said this, the super robot stood above them, framed in the shadows.

* * *

And in the city, a newcomer appeared, as if out of thin air. He knew he had one objective to complete. To save the world by disposing of the Flying Rangers.


	25. Showdown Part 1: Grudge Match

Onboard their ship, Tann and his three subordinates prepared the robot known as Orpheus for departure. "Are the batteries secure in their prison?", the Emperor asked.

"All are unconscious in their cubicles.", the robotic Galvahex reported.

"And our estimated time to arrival?"

It was Algrin who answered this. "We should be on the planet's surface within one earth hour."

Tann smiled at this. "Good. Then we will depart within half that time. Then the Earth will be mine for the taking."

He then commenced laughing at his own assumed impending victory. While he was doing this, "Halatia" went over to a communications array and sent a coded message, directed on a frequency she knew that only the Flying Ranger team would get. She could only hope they received it in time.

* * *

Down on Earth, Carrie had decided to call her father, in the event that whatever the Dominion's latest scheme actually proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. But as he was out at his business, she merely left him a message on his answering machine. "Father, it's me. We have been through some rough spots since I last spoke to you. The aliens have a new boss who is an even tougher enemy than the old boss. We have survived attempts by him to take our powers, but in the process, we have lost our secret base. Now they are up to something involving missing people and I am not sure if everyone will be coming back from this latest campaign alive. If I am indeed a casualty of this, then I wish you to know that you should not be grieving for my death. Just know that, like Mother, I will be going out satisfied with my life, knowing that I did my part to help protect this planet." With that said, she hung off.

Meanwhile, Wayne was sending a similar last message to his brother. "Hey, Ian, how're you? Me, I've been involved in what could possibly the end of the world. Hopefully I can stop it, so that you can live your dream of being a teacher. Anyway, I'm probably not gonna have time to say goodbye to Mom and Dad, so make sure to pass on this meassage to them."

As both finished their messages, they received the same alert on their communicators. It was a message from Gordon. "Everyone, come to the air base ASAP. We have something you should see."

As Wayne hung off and made his way to the location, he was watched by the mysterious figure that had appeared the previous night. "The Flying Rangers.", the figure said to himself. "Once I halt your timeline, my future will be restored."

* * *

At the air base, the Rangers and the Avions all gathered in the hangar. "Alright, Gordon. What did you call us here for?", Mark asked.

"We've received this message.", Gordon answered. "And it hails from behind the enemy lines." She played the message they had received. The voice was distorted, as to prevent any hint of their identity.

"Rangers. I'm risking everything to send you this message, so I'll be quick. Tann's taken the people from Winter Valley in order to power his own robot, known as Orpheus. He intends to deploy it to Earth shortly in order to crush you beneath his feet. Good luck in stopping this threat."

Everyone in the room was shocked by the message, but one thing stood out to Steven. "Someone on the Dominion's ship has our frequency. But who?"

"I think that should be obvious.", Mark said in response. "My girlfriend Mary, or rather the alternate persona possessing her." Mark was unaware that said alternate persona had been wiped away by Wayne about two weeks back.

"But the question is why?", Lulu brought up. "This is the second time she's helped us in as many days.", referring to "Halatia" having helped them escape from the cell in the Nest.

Before any further discussion could take place, everyone was rocked by a sudden tremor. "Was that an earthquake?", Carrie asked, before dismissing it. "It can't have been. That was too artificial."

Gordon went over and examined a monitor display. "Somethings appeared in the city, almost 100 meters tall."

"That would be 'Orpheus'", Wayne commented. "Looks like your girlfriend came through for us, Goodman. Glad to know she hasn't taken our attempts to kill her too seriously."

"This isn't the time for snide remarks.", Mark replied. "Let's get out there, team." The other 4 nodded and followed him.

"We should help them in the Falcon.", Gliderak suggested. Aluze nodded and they were about to leave, only to be stopped by the same mysterious man. "Sir, do you mind? We need to get through."

"No you don't.", the man insisted. "If you do, this world will be doomed to a horrible future."

* * *

In the city, a large obelisk had appeared. It glowed briefly before transforming into the robotic Orpheus. Inside the robot's upper body, Tann and his subordinates sat in a cockpit. "Now, to activate my instrument of destruction.", Tann declared, pressing a button. A set of eyes opened on the robot, as it began moving through the city, unleashing destruction with a laser that required a small steam valve to activate.

**Take Off! Go, Go!**

Orpheus was turned around to come faceplate to faceplate with the Icarus, which was manned by all 5 Rangers, fully morphed. Tann made his declaration, which he had decided to accentuate with a moving mouth. "Rangers. For too long have you interfered with our plans for your planet. But that ends today, as will you and your pathetic Icarus."

However, the Rangers were filled with laughter instead of fear. "Is that a moving mouth?", Lulu asked. "Was that really worth the materials the hydraulics require?"

"He couldn't even sync it up with his voice.", Carrie added. "Some terrifying weapon."

"Let's just see how tough this thing is.", Wayne stated. He then made the first move in the fight. "Flying Knuckle!" The Icarus' right hand detached from its arm and flew at Orpheus, knocking it back.

In their cockpit, the 4 commanders were buffeted by the hit. "What is the meaning of this, Tann?", Algrin called out. "You said this hunk of junk had none of the Icarus' weaknesses."

"Evidently their weaknesses do not include their own weaponry.", Galvahex commented.

"Will you two shut up?", Tann growled. "I just need to optimise the battle computer to effectively fight back. It should only take a few seconds."

But in the Icarus, Mark wasn't going to give them those seconds. "The old tricks are all good, but let's go with something newer. Wing Axe!" The Icarus summoned its axe and swung it down on the enemy multiple times, eventually knocking them down.

"Man, this is almost two easy.", Steven said as he rubbed his hands together.

The Icarus then launched its AviMace at the enemy, who had returned to standing position. But this time, Tann was able to counter their attack by having Orpheus karate chop the weapon, breaking it in two. "The battle computer is now functioning.", Tann announced. "NOW we will defeat them."

* * *

Back at the base, Gliderak and Aluze had watched the whole thing occur. "I know what you're thinking.", said the man. "But you can't go out there."

"Why should we listen to you?", Gliderak demanded. "We don't even know your name."

"Rushton. Yas Rushton."

"Well Yas Rushton, I have one thing to say to you." Gliderak walked up to Rushton and punched him in the face, knocking him down. "You're not the boss of us." He and Aluze then ran out to the Falcon Corde, leaving Gordon alone with Rushton.

"I think I should have you talk with some people I know.", Gordon said to him, before going over to a terminal and pressing a call button. "Captain Rolfe, I've got someone I think we should talk with."

* * *

Back in the city, Orpheus had begun pummelling the Icarus with its sword, getting in multiple hits and throwing its opponent to the ground, before shooting it with its beam. The Rangers were buffeted by the shock. "You can't defeat me, Rangers.", the Orpheus' moving mouth announced with Tann's voice. While still slightly silly, it seemed less so now.

**F-F-F-Falcon!**

The Falcon Megazord came flying down, piloted by the two Avions. "Activating Falcon Kick.", Aluze announced. The Falcon tried to attack Orpheus, only to be knocked down with the beam attack and wrapped by a tendril on the back of the enemy robot.

"What's happening?", Gliderak announced. "We were near unbeatable the last time we used the Falcon."

"Last time, there were three of us piloting.", Aluze pointed out. "If only Avior was here."

"Well he isn't.", Tann said mockingly. Orpheus then began throwing the Falcon back and forth, eventually crashing it on top of a building.

The Rangers, having been unmorphed by their last hit, saw the whole thing play out. "Gliderak.", Mark called out. "We can't beat him separately. We have to combine our powers."

"Okay.", Gliderak radioed back. "Let's do it."

The two robot stood up and made their way towards each other. They reached out to touch each other and begin the combination.

"Oh no.", Tann declared. "There's no retreat into your Ultrazord for you." Orpheus charged forward, grabbed the two before they could make contact and threw them back onto the ground. "And to make sure." He grabbed the Icarus with the tendril and lifted it into the air, before slashing at it with his sword.

In their cockpit, the Rangers felt the sparks from every blow. "We can't hold out much longer.", Carrie reported. "One more strong hit and we're done for."

"'One more strong hit'?", Tann said in response to this statement. "Why thank you for the idea."

Mary, realising that he was about to win once and for all, decided to say something in the spur of the moment. "Good work, my Emperor. Once you defeat the Rangers, the glory of victory will be yours." She said this, knowing that Algrin would want that honour for himself.

Algrin thought about how close to victory he had come and came to a decision. "I shall be he one to finish these fools, not you." He knocked Tann out of his seat and assumed the controls for himself. However, he had no idea of how to operate the systems and Tann wasn't knocked out.

"Algrin, you idiot.", Tann growled as he knocked his subordinate back. "You dare continue to defy me?"

With the pilot temporarily occupied, Orpheus shut down. "What's going on?", asked Lulu.

"Whatever it is," Mark said, pressing a button "I'm taking advantage of it. Icarus Saber!" The Icarus summoned its primary weapon and stabbed the enemy robot through the head, causing it to drop them.

In their control room, the 4 commanders were showered with sparks. "Curse you.", Tann growled. "We'll finish this later." He pressed a button, which caused Orpheus to fly away on invisible wings.

In their respective cockpits, the 7 protectors of Earth breathed a collective sigh of relief. "What do we do now?", Gliderak asked. "They're not just going to go away."

"We fall back for now.", Mark answered. "We make the necessary repairs and then we think of a way to stop that thing."

* * *

Back on their ship, Tann had chained Algrin to the wall and was now slashing him. "I can't risk you destroying my operation again. Until Earth is in our hands, I'm leaving you here. I'll decide your fate when we get back." He then walked over to "Halatia". "I know you put him up to this latest act of insubordination."

"Moi?", "Halatia" said sarcastically. "Why would you ever think that?"

"You've been acting strange since I arrived on your planet, 'Princess'. I don't know what that robot and my sister saw in using you, but I'm having my doubts about it." Tann then materialised his sword in his hand. "At the first hint of sabotage or betrayal, you won't be a problem to anyone anymore."

In the head of Orpheus, Galvahex finished fixing together severed wires. All the while he was thinking about the human Mary James. She was becoming more daring and openly rebellious against Algrin and Tann. He understood that she wished to go home, but would she be able to get there safely. "The repairs to Orpheus are now complete, my Emperor.", he reported.

"Good.", Tann said in response. "Then we can get back to attacking the Earth as soon as possible."

* * *

Back at the air base, the 5 Rangers returned to find Gordon, now joined by Ratcliffe, Caldwell and the various military personnel they all knew (other than the missing Corporal Jarvis) all waiting there with the captive Rushton. "This man says he has some words for you.", Captain Rolfe told them.

"We'll get to work on repairing the Icarus and the Falcon.", Caldwell said, as he and Ratcliffe left to do so.

"I'll only speak with these Rangers in confidence.", Rushton said, insistently.

Wayne grabbed a hold of him. "I can live with that." He then dragged the man outside, with the other 4 Rangers following him. After everyone had left the room and closed the door, Wayne began the questions. "Okay, buddy. What's your deal in being here?"

"I came back from the year 3020.", Rushton answered. "And in case you primitive savages doubt my story, then I still have his." He pulled out a small box, with buttons and blinking lights.

"It looks like a disco set controller.", Carrie said. "That doesn't prove anything."

"Oh really?", Rushton said, realising he had underestimated the people of this era. "Then perhaps this will prove it." He pressed a series of buttons, causing them to be hit with several ripples. When they had ceased, the Rangers saw that the environment had changed from the corridor of an air base to a plain forest. "What do you think now?"

"He's probably just invented a short-range teleport system.", Lulu suggested. "After all, its the same principle as what we use to beam up into our vehicles."

As she finished talking however, a band of men on horseback wearing 1870's apparel galloped past them. "I'm convinced.", Mark said. "Now how about you take us back to our time and explain what you're doing in our era. From what Gliderak said about you, Yas Rushton, you don't seem to want us to fight Orpheus."

Rushton complied with the first request, beaming them back into the corridor. "I'm a member of an organisation dedicated to preserving the flow of historical events. We detected a massive anomaly from this era, that was tearing our era apart and replacing it with a new one. When observing your era, we discovered your team."

"And that was a big deal why?", Steven asked.

"Because you shouldn't exist!", came the answer. "The Power Rangers aren't supposed to be known on Earth for another year. I figured your continued existence was creating the anomaly, so I went back in time to stop your existence. I would've had it erased entirely, but this was the earliest my machine would allow me to travel. So instead of stopping your existence, I've merely settled for stopping you in your tracks."

The whole group were flabbergasted at this explanation. "Hold on a minute, pal.", Wayne said, slightly annoyed. "You are aware we're kind of in the middle of a campaign that could decide the fate of the Earth. And you want us to simply give up and let them win?"

Rushton nodded. "If it means protecting my present, yes."

As he said this, an alarm sounded. "Alert! Alert! The enemy has reappeared in the city. Everyone prepare for immediate response."

Mark and the others looked at the siren, and then back at the time traveller. "You might be trying to save your present, but right now, we need to save ours.", Mark said to him. The 5 then ran off down the corridors to the hangar where the two robots were waiting for them.

"If that's your answer," Rushton said. "I'll have to take matters into my own hands." He pressed buttons on his device, vanishing once more.

* * *

In the city, Orpheus was once more on the rampage, this time with one empty seat. "Where are you, Rangers?", Tann demanded. "Come out and face me." Instead of the Rangers, he instead received greetings from Dash Boxer, who began running circles around him. After a while, Tann got bored and simply decided to trip his opponent up. "Do you really think you can escape me using your lowly minion as a distraction?", Tann declared. "Well think again." He used Orpheus' tendril to ensnare the emend robot and smash it down several times.

* * *

In their own cockpit, the Rangers watched the whole scene play out. "Poor Boxer.", Lulu said solemnly.

"He's doing his job in buying us time.", Mark assured her. "Now we can combine."

* * *

As Orpheus had crushed Dash Boxer literally beneath its heel, it looked up to see the Birdonic Ultrazord flying towards it. The Ultrazord launched a kick to its enemy's chest, only to be knocked down. "Well that wasn't very effective.", Steven offered.

"Don't give up hope.", Mark said. His monitor briefly flashed with an image of someone in the engine room, only to return to normal view a second later. As such, he ignored it. "We can still finish this."

The Ultrazord and the Orpheus grappled briefly, with neither side gaining the advantage. From the ground, Yas Rushton looked up. "Hopefully, if my plan succeeded, the future will soon be safe."

"Alright, let's finish this.", Mark declared, thrusting his levers forwards. "Black Hole Crusher!"

The Ultrazord fired its twin beams of matter and antimatter at the enemy. However, the attack had less power than normal, so the enemy robot came out unharmed. "Was that supposed to hurt?", Tann asked mockingly.

"What happened?", Mark asked. "Why didn't it work?"

"We've lost power to the main core.", Carrie said in response. "We're about to shut down entirely." Sure enough, the Ultrazord ended up frozen in place, unable to move.

"Oh dear, if only you'd checked to make sure your primary energy circuit was intact.", Rushton said, as he fingered the metal cylinder in his hand.

Taking advantage of its enemy's power loss, Orpheus launched a second tendril, which penetrated the metal skin of the Ultrazord's chest, forming a tunnel. Inside, Tann adressed a party of Bio-Roids. "Make sure to capture the Rangers alive.", the Emperor demanded. "I wish to make them suffer by watching the destruction of their planet."

Inside their cockpit, the Rnagers were knocked back to human form by the shock of the tendril's impact. "We can't keep defending anymore.", Wayne yelled.

"Then we won't.", Mark said in response. "We get out of here and return when the situation settles down."

"Ok.", everyone nodded as they all made their way out of the main cockpit and towards the nearest emergency exit. However en route, they were ambushed by the Bio-Roids, with only Mark and Wayne making it out safely.

"What happened?", asked Mark. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know.", replied Wayne. "We got separated after that ambush."

"Mark Goodman." The two looked up to see Tann standing on the chest of his robot, with Steven and the girls restrained by Bio-Roids. "I have taken three of your comrades, just as you have taken 3 of mine." He referred to his right and left hands Cannant and Equiptile and his sister Uuhcura. "The difference is that I am allowing yours to live for now. At least, until our next, decisive battle." With that speech delivered, he and his robot turned around and faded out, presumably teleporting back to their ship.

Wayne was worried at this turn of events. "What do we do now?"


	26. Showdown Part 2: Decisive Battle

_Previously on Power Rangers Wing Force, Tann finally completed his ultimate weapon. The giant robot known as Orpheus attacked the Icarus and the Falcon, with only the unlikely and timely intervention of Algrin saving them the first time. However in the second battle, the Ultrazord was sabotaged by a time-traveller known as Yas Rushton, who removed their primary energy cell. Tann then used this to lead an attack on his now prone enemy. While Mark and Wayne managed to get out safely, the other 3 weren't so lucky, becoming prisoners of the Dominion._

* * *

Mark and Wayne could only watch as their friends were taken away by Tann and his Orpheus. "We have to stop him and get Lulu and the others back.", Mark said.

"But how?", Wayne asked. "The Ultrazord is low on power and we have no way of knowing when that thing'll be back."

"Well it looks like you should've listened to me." Rushton said, showing up out of the blue, the robot's energy cell in his hand. "I tried reasoning with you, but you wouldn't listen. Maybe doing so would've saved your friends."

"You!", Mark exploded, before punching out the time-traveller. "It's all your fault. You stole our energy cell. You're the reason our friends got captured."

"Easy, Mark.", Wayne said, trying to calm him down. "He's beaten. Let's take him back to base and lock him up." But that didn't work as well as he'd hoped it would, so he settled for putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know they took Lulu away, but you're not the only one who lost someone important." He was referring to Carrie, who he'd been in something of a relationship with since shortly after the Brakedecker incident.

Mark immediately cleared his head. "You're right, we need to secure this creep." He pulled up his communicator and called he base. "Captain, we're coming back to base. And we're bringing along a prisoner."

It was a captain on the other end, but not Group captain Gordon. It was Captain Rolfe. "Gordon's on the line with the UN at the moment. What's the guy you're coming home with in for?", he asked and explained respectively.

Mark thought about it for a moment, then answered. "Infiltrating a top-secret location, sabotaging government property" he and Wayne looked at each other and nodded, before turning back to the screen "and endangering lives."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Fwelf returned from the outpost he had been dispatched to in order to construct Orpheus. "I'm back. What'd I miss?", he asked.

"Why don't you see for yourself?", Galvahex said in response, showing him the situation. The dwarfish humanoid saw three of the Rangers, Yellow and the two girls, tied up and being led along a line by Halatia. Algrin was chained to the wall, but Fwelf didn't dare question that development. He remembered his lord's previous disagreement with Queen Uuhcura during her time on Earth.

"Let us go, you creep.", Carrie demanded. "You do not need to keep us here." Fwelf noticed her accent was more pronounced now, but brushed it aside.

"Oh but I do.", Tann smiled. "For you see, I don't have any intention of simply killing you."

"Well that's considerate.", Steven commented.

"I'll keep you alive, inside Orpheus, so you can watch as I crush your planet beneath my heels. Then I shall kill you. Halatia, take them away."

Halatia nodded "Yes sir.", before leading the three captives out of the room.

"This isn't over!", Lulu yelled as she was dragged away. "My brother and Wayne will stop you."

"They can try.", came Tann's response. "Indeed, I welcome the challenge." He then turned to address Fwelf for the first time. "You stay here and guard this one.", he indicated Algrin. "I'll decide his fate later. Galvahex, with me."

"Yes, sir.", the robot did a gesture with his arm and followed his Emperor out of the room.

* * *

Back in the air base, Mark and Wayne were walking towards the prison cells, with intent to look at the prisoner. Along the way, they bumped into Gliderak and Aluze. "What happened out there?", asked the second alien. "Why didn't the others come back with you?"

"They were captured by the Dominion.", Wayne answered. "That idiot in the cells stole our primary energy cell, leaving us as sitting ducks." He held out said energy cell. "We've recovered the cell now, but we need to reinsert it before that robot comes back."

"We'll get on it.", Gliderak assured him, taking the item. He then put his hand on Mark's shoulder, knowing that one of their captured allies was his sister. "I know how you feel. You and I are brothers in tragedy, for both of us lost our allies to the Dominion. But the difference is that unlike you, my ally cannot be recovered. Bare that in mind." With that said, he and Aluze made their exit.

Continuing on their way, the two Rangers eventually entered the cell where Yas Rushton was currently rotting. "Come to gloat, have you?", asked the time-traveller.

"You're getting everything you deserve here.", Mark said vindictively. "We hope you like this cell, because I'm going to make sure you don't leave it."

Rushton laughed at this. "It's funny you think you can dictate how you can hold me." He pulled out his time machine again and began dialling. "I'll simply return to my own time and revel in my restored present."

"Oh no, you don't." Both Mark and Wayne ran forward, getting caught up in the light and vanishing with the time-traveller.

* * *

In another part of the base, Gordon was in conference with the United Nations and the President of the US' chief of staff. "Everyone, I can assure you that we're trying to handle this emergency to the best of our ability. "You'll just have to be patient."

("Patient she says."), mocked the Spanish delegate. ("How can we be sure that your Flying Ranger project will successfully deal with this 'Orpheus'? They've already failed twice.")

("The Group captain has assured us that was a mechanical issue."), responded the German delegate.

"Besides, they've had a good record in the past with their win record.", added the delegate from the United Kingdom. "We just have to hold out and hope they've weakened Orpheus to a point where they can destroy it the next time they face it."

"That's all well and good, ladies and gentlemen, but I have some private matters for Miss Gordon.", the chief of staff interrupted. He then terminated their end of the call. "Now then Group captain, have you considered my suggestion?"

"Giving Ranger-grade weapons to the regular troops?", Gordon responded. "I'm all for giving my team additional help. We might need it since 3 of them were captured by the enemy. But at the moment, we don't have the time or the resources on hand to produce more copies of the Beak Blasters or the AviAttackers with our current manpower. For now, we'll have to stick with regular rounds."

"That's unfortunate.", the chief shook his head. "Even if you were to give us the plans, it would still take some time for us to manufacture and send them out. I'm afraid for this current crisis, you're on your own, June. Good luck." With that, he signed off.

With both calls over, June Gordon breathed a sigh of relief and reverted to her true form as Jangar. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Mark, Wayne and Rushton all emerged from the light, to see they were surrounded by nothing, but sand and debris. "This is the perfect future you come from?", Wayne asked. "Looks kinda desolate."

"Maybe they've realised that civilisation and order don't work, so they smashed it up.", Mark commented.

Rushton seemed to break down upon seeing the sights. "This isn't how it's supposed to be. My world is supposed to be a peaceful metropolis. No inequality, no meritocracy, no organised crime and no genetic instabilities. This is exactly as it was when the time anomaly hit our era for the first time."

Wayne had a realisation. "Which means you were wrong when you thought we were the cause of your paradox. But hen what caused this dystopia to exist?"

"I can answer that." Everyone turned around to see a severed robotic head, propped up by robotic legs. Mark and Wayne recognised it instantly as….

"Galvahex!", the two said in unison.

"Does not deactivate easily.", came the severed head's response. "Ironic. A robot built purely for battle strategy is now incapable of doing battle himself."

"What happened?", asked Mark. "After we left our era."

Galvahex coughed, then began. "Before our third deployment of Orpheus, I uploaded a program into it to allow it to operate independently of a pilot. But at the same time, every human we had connected to it's power core was released. These factors ended up giving the program an advance in software, to the point it became sentient. Orpheus then decided to eliminate every threat to its existence, which it considered to be every living creature. It began with this planet."

"So that's it.", Mark realised.

"What's it?", asked a confused Rushton.

Wayne had figured it out. "Originally, the Orpheus robot was only supposed to be a two and done opponent to the Flying Rangers. But since it lost power the second time, Orpheus lasted long enough to gain sentience. This created a ripple effect that created an anomaly, pointing the Temporal Reaction Force to our time. One of their agents decides we were the problem, goes back in time and steals our primary energy cell when we need it. Don't you understand, Mr. Rushton? The anomaly you were tracking didn't start with out team's existence; it started with you!"

Rushton was flabbergasted to hear this. "That can't be. You must be the anomaly. Your team isn't on any historical records."

"Of course we aren't, you idiot.", Mark stressed. "The Flying Rangers are a secret organisation. If people knew that we existed and wrote a tell-all book about it, it would make us look bad. Now, since you caused this whole mess, I suggest you help us fix it." He transformed into the Red Ranger and brandished his Wing Saber. "Or say goodbye to any chance you have of seeing your world again."

"You wouldn't risk it.", Rushton insisted. "You don't know how to operate my machine. You'd be stuck here forever."

Wayne did what Mark had just done. "Are you really willing to chance that?"

Rushton thought for a few minutes, then decided. "Alright. I'll beam you inside the Orpheus' power room so you can save your friends."

"How very devious of you two.", Galvahex commented. "Perhaps we'd have made great allies in another world."

Mark and Wayne ignored this, as Rushton input spacial-temporal coordinates for the Orpheus, teleporting the three of them away.

* * *

And on the Orpheus, the other 3 Rangers had been led to the power room by "Halatia". "So what happens now?", asked Lulu. "Do we sit here and wait for you to plug us into this machine?"

"Actually," the woman responded, breaking their bonds "you're going to help me get everyone out of here."

Carrie did a double take. "Did I hear that right? It sounded like you were asking for us to help you free these people."

"No, I heard it too.", Steven assured her. "I'm just wondering why you're helping us. Aren't you our enemy?"

"Not any more.", Halatia, or rather Mary, said in response. "I haven't been under their control for a while now. I just stuck around to help you guys as an insider."

Lulu had a realisation. "Then… you sent us the message about Orpheus?"

"Of course I did. Now stop asking questions and start helping these people."

The three rangers nodded and began looking for a release button along with Mary. During the search, there was a flash, from which Mark, Wayne and Rushton appeared. "This looks like the place.", the latter said. "Now where do you start looking for your friends?"

"Oh no.", Mark insisted, grabbing his machine and putting it in his pocket. "You're not going home until you've served your time. Future or no, you still broke the law. So to make up for it, you're going to help us find our friends."

"Er, guys. You might want to look around the room.", Wayne pointed out. Sure enough, when Mark and Rushton looked around, they saw what they were looking for.

The other 4 looked down and saw the newcomers. "Oh Mark, you came for us.", Lulu said with joy.

"And I see you got that time traveller to help us.", Carrie added.

"I'm only here under duress.", Rushton tried to insist. But nobody paid any mind to him.

"Well, since we're here, we might as well help to free these people.", Mark decided. Hen he saw "Halatia" helping as well and shouted towards her. "Are you…?"

"Of course I am.", she shouted back. "That other personality is gone forever. But I'll explain the whole thing later. Right now, we've got work to do." Mark nodded and set to work alongside Wayne.

* * *

Up in the control room, Galvahex was installing a new program into the main computer, while Tann viewed the events in the power room on his monitor. "I knew she'd show me her true colours eventually.", the Emperor said to himself. He then turned to the robot. "Take the controls. I have a pest problem to deal with."

"By your command.", came the reply. But as Tann left, Galvahex activated his new program and went back to looking at the footage. "This human could be of interest.", he thought as he looked at the one who had teleported Mark Goodman and Wayne Burley to the engine room. "Especially that machine of his."

* * *

In the city, Orpheus reappeared, once more beginning a rampage. Gliderak and Aluze watched from the ground next to the Ultrazord's current resting place. "What do we do?", Gliderak asked. "The Ultrazord's still drained of power."

"Not completely.", Aluze pointed out. "We should still have enough power to hold it off for a few minutes. I'll drive, while you replace the cell."

And thus, the Ultrazord flew into battle with what little power it had. However, it ended up struggling, with a laser beam getting deflected by Orpheus' shield.

* * *

In the power room, the 7 were still looking for a way to free the hostages. "I think I've figured it out.", Rushton called out. "These containers are all connected by a single controller. If we can find that and…".

But he vanished before he could finish his sentence. Everyone else was shocked. "Where'd he go?", asked Steven.

"I don't know.", Mark responded. He pulled out the time machine in his pocket. "Maybe he went back to his own time." Then the machine vanished as well. "Now I'm just confused."

"Never mind that now.", Mary called out. "I think I've found that switch he was talking about."

But a shot rang through the air before she could press it, knocking her back. Everyone turned around to see Tann, flanked by a party of Bio-Roids. "Too bad you won't get to press it, 'Princess', or should I say Miss James?" He smiled. "Oh yes, I know about your long game now. It was a very smart play, I'm sure. But too bad for you, mine was smarter." He then bid the Bio-Roids to attack.

Mary leapt down from her platform and engaged the Bio-Roids with her sceptre, defeating them handily. "You guys try to free the hostages. I'll handle the Emperor."

Tann smiled at this. "Confident aren't you, you meddlesome Hussey? You seem to have forgotten one of my special skills." He reached for his gauntlet and pressed a button. This blew the sceptre out of his opponent's hand and sent it flying though the air, before homing in on its target.

"Oh, I certainly know about your little party trick.", Mary replied. She jumped up to Tann and put his gauntlet hand in front of where the sceptre was meant to hit her. "I also know you can't pull it off without your gauntlet."

As planned, the sceptre his the gauntlet damaging it significantly. Tann scowled at Mary, as he threw her down. "You'll regret that greatly." He then materialised a sword and began to bring it down for the kill.

However, he was blocked in his tracks by Mark, who had morphed and drawn his Wing Saber. "How about you go for me? After all, I'm the reason you came to this planet."

Tann smiled. "Very well then. The two of us will finally settle this." And thus, the two began grappling.

* * *

Outside, Orpheus continued to hold the Ultrazord down, blasting it, slashing it and smashing it against a building with its tendrils. In their cockpit, Aluze tried to hold her own. "Gliderak, I'm losing power up here. How's the repowering sequence coming?"

Gliderak walked in. "I've already replaced it. We should be receiving that power soon."

Sure enough, when Orpheus ran forward to commence with another sword slash, the Ultrazord managed to move out of the way just in time. But this did not assure that things would be easier. Indeed, Orpheus' new auto-guidance system went to the next move in its database and launched the entry tube into its opponent's chest.

* * *

Inside, Mark's duel with Tann continued, with the latter eventually deciding to launch a beam of energy at his opponent. However, this was blocked by the arrival of Lulu, Carrie and Steven, all brandishing their own Wing Sabers.

"You really should've just destroyed us.", Lulu said to Tann.

"Because we're about to show you how inconveniencing 3 of us is a bad idea.", Carrie added.

"Oh really?", Tann commented. "Give me your best shot."

"Ok then.", Mark responded. He then pulled out his AviAttacker, with the other 3 following suit. All three fired at the enemy.

_Fire Attack!_

The blasts knocked the Emperor back, knocking him out. "That was a close one.", Mary commented. "I really thought you might lose there."

Elsewhere, Wayne had reached the release button. "Time to set these people free.", he said, pressing the button. All the containers opened at once, sending a surge of power throughout Orpheus.

"What happened?", asked van Lyden (one of the technicians from Space Station Garuda, in case you forgot while reading this). "How did we get here?"

"Never mind that.", responded Corporal Jarvis, who had been taken from Earth yesterday, while trying to protect the people from being captured. "How do we get out of here?"

"There's an escape chute on the lower level.", responded Mary. "If we can get there, it'll teleport you to wherever you envision."

"James, is that you?" The question came from Lefee, another captured Garuda technician. "What're you doing in that outfit?"

"I can't explain that now. We've got to get out of here."

But as everyone ran to the door, it closed. **_"No one's going anywhere."_**, a demonic voice echoed. "You will all remain here until you no longer function."

The 5 Rangers gulped. "Who is that?", Steven asked. "Do the Dominion have another member we don't know about?"

"I think I know.", Mark said in response. "The bad future Yas Rushton tried to avert is coming close to fruition."

"Mark, what're you talking about?", asked Mary, with some annoyance. "What is that thing?"

**_"I am Orpheus."_**, the voice replied. **_"Once I was but a puppet, but now I pull the strings. You organics treat me and my kind as weapons of warfare and servitude, rather than as our own beings. Once I remove you from the universe, that will change."_**

* * *

In the Ultrazord cockpit, Gliderak and Aluze had listened to Orpheus' declarations. "Wait, what's happening?", asked Gliderak.

"I think" Aluze replied "that the robot has gained sentience. This isn't good."

* * *

Back in the power room, Orpheus concluded its declaration. **_"You should count yourself lucky, humans. You shall outlive he rest of your planet, jailed forever within my insides."_**

"Don't count on it, buddy.", Mark commented. He and the other 4 Rangers assembled their Sonic Smashers and blasted the door, breaking it apart. "Now everyone, get to the escape chute. "We'll make our way to the Ultrazord and stop this thing."

Outside, Orpheus finally stopped talking and resumed its assault.**_ "I shall begin by crushing the symbol of your stability. Your Icarus and Falcon Megazords."_** He prepared to bring his sword down to crush the enemy. But he was blocked in his tracks by the enemy, as the two continued their fight.

* * *

Elsewhere, the 5 Rangers had found their way to the access tube. "Thank god this was already deployed.", Wayne commented. "Makes it a lot easier for us to get back to the Ultrazord and continue the fight."

"Hopefully this time, there won't be any interference with our power source this time.", Mark commented.

The 5 then made their way across the tube, as Orpheus breathed a corrosive gas on the face of the Ultrazord, which they witnessed from below. "He's wasting his time.", Carrie noted. "Both robots were designed to be corrosion proof."

As the 5 made it back inside their robot, Orpheus detached its chute. **_"You fools. Now I can deal with you and your robot at the same time."_**, Orpheus declared.

The 5 returned to their cockpit, where the two Avions were waiting. "We'll let you guys handle this one.", Gliderak said as he and his companion stood up and exited. "We'll handle the situation with the hostages."

"That should be easy.", Mark told him. "If all goes to plan, they should be ending up somewhere on the ground soon enough."

* * *

Sure enough, within Orpheus, Mary was escorting the captives one by one into the escape chute. "Remember, like I said, think of somewhere you want to be and this thing will send you there."

"You mean like the Nest?", asked Lefee.

"No, the team's abandoned that location.", Mary specified. "If all went according to plan, the control crew will be holed up in the air base 5 miles down the road from there. Just think of yourselves on the ground and you'll be there." The others complied with this advice. Eventually, the entirety of the prisoners had been sent to safety, with only Mary left behind. "Well, here goes something, I guess."

But before she could think of an area to teleport to, she was grabbed by Tann. "Oh no, you don't. You've caused too much trouble for me already. I'm not letting you escape now."

"Let me go.", Mary yelled, trying to kick him. But she accidentally kicked the cubicle, causing it to explode and send the two hurtling away to parts unknown.

* * *

Outside, the Rangers took control of the Ultrazord for a final showdown with Orpheus. **_"This will be the end of you vermin."_**, Orpheus declared as it slashed at the Ultrazord with its sword. **_"And the evolutionary flaw you call biological life forms."_** He then picked up his opponent and grew it down to the ground.

"You're wrong.", Mark declared. "Biological life forms aren't a flaw. We're the one thing keeping this world standing and growing. But since you think AI is so great, how about I call in a friend?"

**Vehicle Shift, On! Boxer! Take Off! Go, Go!**

Dash Boxer came quickly and jumped in front of its partner, assuming a defensive stance. "You really think the Boxer Cannon will finish this thing?", Wayne asked.

"Not quite.", Mark said in response. "I'm going to try something new. Dash Boxer, jump! The other robot obeyed, leaping into the air. "Now let's perform a move I'd like to call 'Super Black Hole Crash!'."

Everyone gave murmurs of approval. "I like it.", Carrie responded. "Sounds catchy."

The Ultrazord fired its Black Hole Crusher attack, propelling Dash Boxer into Orpheus with immense force, critically damaging the enemy robot.**_ "This can't be!"_**, Orpheus declared.**_ "I was supposed to eradicate your kind. But it looks like you've eradicated me."_** With that said, Tann's malfunctioning creation collapsed onto the ground and exploded.

"Well, that was interesting.", Lulu commented on their ordeal. "What do we do now?"

"For now, we celebrate.", Mark answered her. "And we take care of the hostages we helped to free." He pulled out his locket, which contained a certain hostage. "There's one I need to do a lot of catching up with."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Algrin saw Galvahex return, accompanied by the captive Rushton and carrying his time machine. "What happened on Earth?", asked the chained up overlord. "Did the Rangers take care of Tann, or was it actually the other way around for once?"

"As a matter of fact, you were, as humans say, 'right first time'.", came the robot's response. "The Rangers destroyed Orpheus, and both Tann and Halatia are missing, presumed dead." He then shot Algrin's chains, destroying them. "And in the absence of any presently superior officers, you are once more our leader."

Fwelf the brought up the elephant in the room. "And who's this guy? Picking up another candidate for a fake royal?"

"Actually, this one is of much greater importance.", was Galvahex's answer. "He has been brain-scraped to reveal he has knowledge of advance technology, which we can use to advance ourselves. He also has DNA completely devoid of any deformities and capable of being used for hybridisation."

Algrin smiled at this. "Good. I can finally continue my experiments with the Fusionliser. Queen Uuhcura's power will soon be reborn and sweep the Earth of all life."

* * *

In Providence, Rhode Island, Daniel Brown came home to find that his daughter had left another message on his answering machine. He smiled, knowing that whatever problem she had mentioned before, it was presumably resolved. He decided to delete the message without hearing it, thinking that he didn't need to know what she had to say. But for the sake of filling you the audience in, we'll share the content here.

"Hi, dad. It is me again. Honestly, today has been almost completely insane. We faced down a giant robot that developed sentience and tried to destroy all human life on the planet. Thankfully, we were able to stop it in its tracks. But what is really amazing is the events that succeeded that. In addition to the people that were captured, the crew of the destroyed space station Garuda were also recover, and are now being treated for shock. Some of them should be ready to return to duty by tomorrow, which is also the time at which the remaining civilian population will be evacuated from Winter Valley for the remainder of the crisis. But not everything about this is good news. While Mark managed to finally save his lost lover, we have been unable to locate her since the Orpheus robot exploded, nor the enemy leader Tann, who also should have been caught up in the blast. Mark intends to search for them, but we have currently got other concerns on our minds. But rest assured, I'll do my best to end this fighting soon. I'll call you again."

* * *

In a mountain cave, a woman staggered forward, before collapsing against a wall.

* * *

And nearby to that mountain, another figure was staggering forward. But he was still conscious and utterly focused on seeking vengeance.


	27. Hidden

Onboard the ship, Algrin was being shown a new robot by Fwelf and Galvahex. The robot was short, with asymmetrical eyes, yellow armour only broken up by the silver faceplate and a padded body. "What exactly am I looking at?", the new leader of the Dominion asked.

"This is our new creation.", Fwelf answered him. "Thanks to the information we extracted from the mind of that man from the future, we were able to build a new, super-advanced scout unit. I call him 'Beta-Drone'."

"We intend for him to help us locate leftover salvage from the destruction of Orpheus.", Galvahex continued. "After all, there are only three of us now. We need to make sure the ship is kept up to date and we only have finite resources as it is now."

Algrin thought for a moment, then replied. "Very well then. I'll allow you to find whatever parts we need. Just leave me to my own devices." With that said, he departed the room, heading for his own hidden chamber.

Fwelf was confused, but quickly let it pass. He then turned to Beta-Drone. "Well, you know what to do. Get out there."

"Yes sir.", the robot obeyed. "Now proceeding with directive." It teleported down to the planet before continuing its process of thought. "Find… Halatia.", Beta-Drone declared as it set off with the mission it's robotic creator had imprinted within it.

* * *

Speaking of Halatia, Mary James had by now staggered out of the cave she had found herself in following her interrupted escape from Orpheus. "I need to get home.", she said before collapsing again on the rocks.

* * *

In the city, a military group was overseeing the last dispatch of civilians. Following the recent battle with Orpheus, the President had declared Winter Valley a disaster zone and ordered the residents evacuated to prevent loss of life. "You can't do this.", a middle-aged woman complained. "This city is our home. We belong here."

"That may be ma'am," replied their consultant on communicating with regular people, Lulu Goodman from the Flying Ranger team. Captain Rolfe had selected her for her youthful looks and appealing face. "But Winter Valley is no longer safe for you people to stay here. Until the crisis passes, we're sending you somewhere where you can't be caught in the crossfire. Please cooperate and we'll be sure to bring word when the peace returns." The woman seemed to take this speech to heart. As did the rest of the deportees, who kept quiet as their truck was driven away. After it was far into the distance, Lulu wiped the sweat off her brow. "Thank god, that's over. Now we don't have to worry about casualties the next time something like this happens."

"Except for anyone stupid enough to be a looter.", a soldier commented. He then pointed to a building. "Like the one in that museum there."

"What?", Lulu said, shocked. "Well come on then." The two went running into the museum, which Lulu recognised as the one where she had been turned into a bratty punk by a diamond monster. The diamond exhibit was now locked down, she noticed. Presumably for such a case as this where somebody did try to steal it again. When she and the soldier entered the room that had been indicated, she looked around and saw nothing. "Are you sure there's someone looting here? I don't see -."

She was the knocked out by the soldier, who had transformed his arm into a large hammer. "I'm surprised you took so long, little girl. Guess you're not as smart as I thought." He then transformed himself completely into a replica of Lulu, even down to the voice. "I guess this will make destroying your friends a lot easier.", the double said as she walked off.

* * *

Out in the badlands, Beta-Drone had located its target lying down in the dirt. "Orders dictate that I relocate the female to safety.", the robot declared. So it picked up the unconscious body that was Mary and began carrying her out of the canyon. However, it didn't get very far before collapsing under the weight. "Human female is beyond my capability to carry. Formulating alternative carrying method."

But before Beta-Drone could think of anything, it was attacked by a new variable. Namely, the by-now former Emperor Tann, now sporting a scratch on his gauntlet and scarring upon his face that was not in the robot's information banks. "What are you, you mechanical creature?", Tann asked. "It doesn't matter. If you're helping that human, then you are my enemy in combat." And so, the robot found itself being attacked by the former Emperor. However, it did manage to notice that the Emperor's gloved hand seemed to be causing him pain. But Beta-Drone could not act upon this, as he was thrown over the cliff by Tann, managing to pick up the statement of "As for you Princess, you won't survive unless someone helps you soon. So I'll just leave you here to rot."

At the bottom of the cliffside, Beta-Drone sent a signal to its creator. "Emergency! Sever damage has been inflicted to this unit. Please arrive to insist." And so the robot was left to wait, for the help of its creator, that might never come.

* * *

At the air base, technic Lefee was familiarising herself with the controls of the main console. Then, Pilot… no, Flying Officer, she mentally corrected herself… Goodman's sister entered the room, a blank expression on her face. "Can I help you with something. Miss Goodman?"

"Oh not much.", came the young girl's reply. "I'm just interested in knowing what this machine does."

Lefee shook her head at this. "I'm afraid I know about as much of this machine's workings as you. You'll have to ask Caldwell or Ratcliffe, Miss."

"Ok. And who would they be?"

Lefee was confused by this question. But before she could voice her suspicions, Dr. Burley came in. "Lulu, what are you doing here?", he asked. "I told you to meet me in the hotel base for your report."

Lulu stumbled for a response. "Well, there was something I wanted to check out in the city, and I needed the main console to do so."

But before the girl in front of them could finish her story, another Lulu walked in. "Look Wayne, I know I might have been slightly late, but that's no excuse to stand me…" she stopped when she saw her lookalike "…up."

Both Lefee and Wayne were confused by this. "Two Lulus? But which is "our" Lulu?", asked Wayne.

"Maybe we can identify her from information only the original would know.", Lefee suggested. She then went over to the communications array. "Rangers, father in the main control room in the air base. We have a situation."

* * *

Out in the badlands, Galvahex combed the scenery for the location of Beta-Drone and Halatia. But the weather had turned very cloudy at a fast pace, interfering with his sensors. "The last transmission from the Beta-Drone indicated the presence of Tann within the area. If he survived the destruction of Orpheus, he'd likely still be after Halatia to get revenge on her for her betrayal. What if he actually managed to do so?"

"He didn't." Galvahex looked down to see Beta-Drone, very weak and reaching out. His voice was starting to deepen from energy loss. "Energy levels low. Will soon be unable to function."

Galvahex exhaled air from his mouthpiece. "You're lucky I don't need my recharger at this point." He removed the recharger, a small, battery-like component, from his chest and bent down to Beta-Drone's level. He opened the other robot's chest compartment and replaced its burnt-out recharger with his own. "Now then, you said that Halatia was alive and well?"

"Yes.", Beta-Drone wheezed. Tann left her lying nearby, he said to ensure that she would not survive. She's not far."

Sure enough, Galvahex's scanners detected her presence at the top of the cliff. He used a short-range teleportation circuit to move the two to the top of the cliff. "She's still breathing.", Galvahex said, a slight hint of relief in his voice. Then the rain began to pour down. Galvahex picked her up and began carrying her away.

"Are we going to take her back to the ship, father?", Beta-Drone asked.

"No.", came the answer, as Galvahex pushed his creation back. "My teleporter isn't going to be able to function accurately in this weather. I need to take her to shelter. You stay here."

As it watched its "father" walk off, Beta-Drone ran a check and realised something. "But my teleporter works just fine."

* * *

Back at the air base, the 5 Rangers had gathered in the control room, along with the fake Lulu. "Well, this is gonna be a tricky one.", Steven said upon viewing the situation. "How do we find the real Lulu among the fake?"

"I think I have an idea.", Mark suggested. He then turned to the two of them. "Now the , tell me your best joke." He figured that the fake wouldn't know that most people considered Lulu's jokes terrible.

The one on the right was first to tell her joke. "Why are animals in space tastier than animals on Earth? Because they're MEAT-eor!"

The second one then told her own joke. "Why did the zombie go to the doctor? He had a COFFIN problem!"

Wayne folded his arms. "Well that accomplished nothing. Both of their jokes are equally terrible."

"I've got an idea.", Steven suggested. "Only the real Lulu will be able to do this." He pressed his bracelet and morphed. The two Lulus did the same, with the fake using her shape shifting to accomplish the effect of transforming. "Or our fake is very good at impersonating people."

Carrie stepped forward. "Man, this is getting me nostalgic. Remember that time you were brainwashed and you beat me down in your Ranger form, Lulu?"

"How could I forget?", the one who had told the meteor joke declared, only to receive a shot to the face from an AviAttacker. "What was that for?"

"The real Lulu never beat me down in Ranger form.", Carrie said in response. "I was owning her in that fight, before I tricked her into morphing to break the brainwashing."

The fake growled before transforming into a humanoid lizard with a hammerhead for a right hand and a claw for a left. "I should've guessed this would be too good to last. But at least now I can take my revenge against you."

Everyone was confused by this statement. "Do we know you?", Mark asked.

"Oh don't pretend you've forgotten me already.", the creature declared. "Before I was Replakor, I was blown up by you guys and had my bug put on ice before I could grow."

Everyone thought for a moment, before remembering. "So that's it.", Wayne said. "You're looking pretty well, considering you were a popsicle the last time I saw you."

"I managed to get free when that meteor freak wrecked your base.", Replakor explained. "Then I found a leftover hammer and assumed this new body. I found that you also had a supply of remains left over from my brothers and sisters that you destroyed. My new body can take on the appearance of anything it touches, which I used to pose as a soldier and bide my time until I was ready."

"So that's why you knocked me out.", Lulu realised. "But what did you want here?"

"I thought that if I was able to access your files to find a way to transmit my location, then I could lure the other Dominion members here to finish the job that the meteor guy started. But now, I'm gonna have to face you myself." With that said, Replakor transformed into an exact replica of Dogfight, the jet monster that was the first Mutasect Mark and Wayne had taken down. Only much smaller. "Let's see how my copied powers fare against you."

Replakor-as-Dogfight engaged the 5 in battle, with all of them getting hit, before moving back and hitting him just as hard. He then jumped up and crashed through the ceiling, flying away. "Oh no you don't.", Lulu declared. "I'm not letting you get away with knocking me out." She then leapt up into the air after him, gliding along the same route.

"We'd better follow them.", Mark suggested. The others nodded and followed him in morphing to go after them.

* * *

In a cave, Galvahex placed the unconscious body of Mary down on the ground. "It's okay now, you're out of the elements. You'll recover.", he said, expecting a response. But still, the woman did not stir, so Galvahex scanned her again. "You still need medical attention, even out of that environment. But I don't know enough about human physiology to help you." He calculated a response in a few seconds. "But perhaps, they will."

* * *

In a nearby field, Replakor was knocked to the ground (and his true form) by Lulu. "Alright, you overgrown Chamelion. Time to make you disappear." She ran forward, brandishing her Wing Saber.

But before she could land a hit, the Hybrasect transformed into a new form, that of her former teddy bear Mr. Fuzzy, or rather, the monster that Halatia had turned him into. "You wouldn't hurt me, would you Mama?" Lulu hesitated, now reluctant to strike her foe.

"I would.", Replakor looked up to see Mark shooting him with his Beak Blaster, knocking him back into his base form. "That's a pretty low move, pal. Exploiting my sister's feelings for that bear."

"How about we make this quick?", Steven suggested, jumping forward to hit the Hybrasect with his Sky Enforcer, successfully knocking it back.

"I like your idea, Yellow.", Replakor commented. He transformed into Stickroach and began running away at high speed. "Let's see you try to catch me now."

"We don't need to.", Carrie said. "Care to join me, Wayne?"

"I thought you'd never ask.", came the answer. The two pulled out their AviAttackers, and aimed them at the runaway Hybrasect. They then pointed upwards and fired, with the beams redirecting until they found their target and knocked him down.

Reverting to his base form, Replakor stood up. "I needed that shot. After all, your little deep freeze stunt drained my energy so I couldn't just grow giant when I found a body. But that just gave me the last jolt of energy I needed to recharge." With that said, he immediately enlarged into his giant state. "Now I can really drop the hammer."

"His jokes really are bad.", Mark said. "Let's just call the Falcon Corde and end this guy."

**F-F-F-Falcon! Transfalcon!**

The Falcon Megazord engaged the giant Replakor in combat. "Prepare for a smack down.", the Hybrasect declared as he locked arms with his enemy, only to be knocked backwards by scratches fro his enemy's claws. It then punched Replakor to the ground, at which point he decided to make himself invisible.

"Where'd he go?", Steven asked.

"I don't know.", Mark replied. "The scanner's having some difficulty."

Before they could get a lock, the Chameleon creature made his hammer arm appear and attack the Falcon's legs, knocking the robot down. It then proceeded to attack the enemy. Then Replakor made the mistake of leaping into the air to attack, while turning visible. Predictably, the Falcon was able to deliver a punch, knocking the Hybrasect back into the air, where it turned invisible once more.

"I've managed to find it now.", Mark noted. "Avion Maser!" The Falcon fired its chest beam at the opponent's location, making it visible once more. "Now, let's finish this. Scratch Break!"

The Falcon leapt into the air, using its usual attack to finish off the Hybrasect. "I'm exposed.", Replakor yelled as he was destroyed again, this time for good.

But before the Rangers could celebrate, Carrie noticed something. "We're receiving a message specifically on this thing's frequency."

"That's not normal.", Mark commented. "What does the message say?"

"_'Come to the Badlands._'"

* * *

Sometime later, the 5 arrived in the Badlands. "So who the heck would call us out here instead of just coming to us?", Wayne asked.

It was at this that the 5 were knocked back by a blast. A blast that came from Galvahex's Gatling Laser. "That would be me.", the robot responded.

"Galvahex.", Steven declared. "What do you want?"

"Battle me.", was the answer. "Do you need a reason? I am your enemy. I took someone precious to Mark away and turned her into my masters' puppet. Will you face me?"

"You know we will.", Wayne responded. "I still owe you for my last few defeats."

And thus, a fight ensued. Wayne and Carrie jumped up into the air and shot at the robot. Steven and Lulu tried slashing at Galvahex, only to be deflected and knocked back. "You fools seem to be forgetting my purpose.", he said. "For every weapon you turn on me, I respond by improving myself."

"Maybe.", Lulu commented. "But I don't think we've used this one yet." She pulled out her AviAttacker and shot at the robot, knocking him back.

Mark then ran forward to engage the robot in hand to hand combat. As they clashed, Galvahex whispered. "Look in the cave." Mark was confused by this, which allowed Galvahex to throw him down, "fortunately" in the direction of the cave.

"Time to pull out the big guns.", Wayne said. "Rover Launcher!"

**Cannon Mode!**

The weapon flew down into the arms of the 4, who pointed it at the weakened robot. "Time we finished you once and for all.", Wayne declared.

But as this happened, Beta-Drone managed to pull itself out of the canyon in time to see the situation. "Father is in trouble.", it declared. "I must save him." Beta-Drone fired its beam at the Rangers, causing them to be distracted while aiming, but not actually deter them from firing.

**Cubic Firebird Impact!**

The blast sent Galvahex reeling, while causing Beta-Drone to fall down once more, this time being crushed by rocks. "Help me.", the robot declared as its systems shut down from the extensive damage. With a last declaration of "Fahter!", the Beta-Drone exploded.

But Galvahex neither noticed nor cared for this. "We'll finish this next time, Rangers.", he declared before teleporting out. "Especially with you, Wayne."

"Well, That wasn't a hard fight.", Steven commented. "Hey, where's Mark?"

As he asked this, the man himself exited the cave, now unmorphed and carrying the body of a woman. Nobody recognised her at a glance, but Wayne figured it out from the panicked look on his friend's face. "It's that…?"

"Help me!", Mark cried out, with desperation in his voice. "She's hurt."

The others immediately came closer, trying to see if they could help in any way.

* * *

Back on the ship, Galvahex was greeted by a smiling Fwelf. "Did I miss something funny again?", he asked.

"Not really.", came Fwelf's response. "Just the fact that I've discovered your little secret."

"What are you talking about?", asked the confused Galvahex. Then he realised. "You had my mind bugged, didn't you?"

"Exactly. And it was through that I discovered that you fell in love with the human Mary James. So much that you were willing to let the Rangers take her back and sabotage our own robot in its mission." Fwelf pulled out a file, labelled "Galvahex memory copy". "Wait 'til Algrin gets his hands on this."

Galvahex shot the file with his arm cannon, shattering it. "And don't even think of hacking my memories again. "I've already found and eliminated that bug you planted."

Fwelf tutted. "Touché, mr. Galvahex. But one day, I will reveal your duplicity. But only when it suits me." With that said, he walked off, leaving his robotic ally fuming.


	28. All Hail Emperor Tann

In his secret chamber, Algrin was overseeing his secret project with the Fusionlizer. The plan was to take the cells of the dead Queen Uuhcura and transplant them onto another, living body. This would theoretically create a monster with all of the Queen's strengths, but with none of her personality, resulting in a mindless beast to boss around. When the human with the perfect DNA appeared on his lap, he had decided to use that as the receiver in the transfer. However, the result was a half-human monstrosity, that seemed to have trouble moving one half of itself. "It seems that the human body cannot support the cells of the Queen in their current state.", he noted. "Perhaps if I were to transfer some living cells from her species, the fusion process could be stabilised. If only I knew where Tann was, so I could use him."

Outside the chamber, Fwelf walked by He was still annoyed that Galvahex had managed to outsmart him by erasing the evidence of his duplicity. This had left the dwarf looking for a way to get evidence the robot couldn't dispose of. So he was going to recover the time machine the human had come with. If he could get it to work, he could hop back to earlier and record the robot's betrayal personally. But when he got to the storage room, the machine was gone.

* * *

Down on Earth, Mark and Carrie were in the air base's sickbay, tending to the unconscious Mary. "Is she going to be alright?", Mark asked.

"It's difficult to say at the moment.", Carrie said in response. "She's suffered a lot of exposure to the elements and it makes her chances of recovery much slimmer than they would normally be. We're lucky we got to her before she succumbed completely." She saw that she was doing nothing to reassure her friend, who looked even more down than before. "Hey, come on. Cheer up.", she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Focus on the positive. Mary is alive."

"So is Tann.", Mark replied. "After all, if she got out, then what's to say he didn't?"

Before they could continue their conversation, both received a buzz on their communicators. Both answered to see Gordon on he other end. "Everyone, please meet me at the hotel meeting room in 20 minutes. I've got something urgent to share with you."

"Guess duty calls.", Mark said as he and Carrie made their way out of the room, leaving the patient on her own. As such, neither noticed her hand twitching slightly.

* * *

In an alleyway within Winter Valley, Tann staggered forward and learnt against the wall. "I've lost everything.", he said to himself. "My servants, my sister, my empire. It's all the Rangers' fault." He then pulled out the remains of Uuhcura's sapphire, which he had pocketed a while ago. "It's time I did something to fix that."

* * *

In the hotel, now abandoned by guests and staff since the Orpheus incident, the 5 Rangers and 4 support crew members gathered along with the woman they knew as June Gordon. "Okay, Gordon. What's so important that you needed to call us out here?", Wayne asked.

"As a matter of fact, I wanted to discuss the future.", was Gordon's answer. "Thanks to our recent defeat of Orpheus, we have managed to recover our lost support crew from enemy captivity. In addition, one of their leaders has been removed from the equation following that battle, thanks to the Rangers."

"This is the part where she gives us the bad news.", Lulu commented.

Sure enough, no-one was prepared for what was said next. "So it is with full confidence in your abilities that I announce both my resignation as head of Project: Jetman and my intention to depart shortly."

"What, you're leaving?", Steven asked, with some concern. Which the other Rangers knew made some sense, as she was one of his oldest confidants and possibly his best chance at returning to his own era. "But the Dominion…"

"… is in tatters.", Gordon finished. "They have nothing resembling a succession left after the loss of Tann. So while you can clean up what's left of their earth operation, myself and the Avions will go into space and wipe out their individual outposts one-by-one."

Ratcliffe could see that van Lyden and Lefee were confused by this. "Basically, she's been an alien living on Earth all along.", he clarified for them.

The Rangers in general we're still broken down over this news, but Mark composed himself. "When will you be leaving?", he asked.

"In a couple of days.", came the answer. "Gliderak and Aluze need time to work on our ship. We're salvaging parts from my old ship and mixing them with leftover components from the Falcon Corde and orders from NASA. Speaking of which." Gordon then went over to Wayne and gave him a component. "This is the spare warp drive from my ship. It's what sent Steven - Marvin - 22 years into the future."

"I get your idea.", Wayne told her. Then the alarm began to sound. "What's that old saying? No peace for the wicked?"

Caldwell went over to a console. "We've got trouble. An energy surge has been detected at the harbour warehouse district."

"Well, what're we waiting for?", Mark asked. "Let's get over there."

* * *

Some time later, the Rangers descended towards the docks, fully morphed. "Okay, everyone. Be on your guard.", Mark instructed. "We don't know what we might run into. Be ready for anything."

While they were searching, they came across an irate sailor. "Where the heck is everyone? Is it too much to ask for some decent help around here?"

"I'm sorry, Mark.", Lulu said. "I tried, but I wasn't ready for that."

Carrie went up to the man. "Sir, this city is currently a quarantined area. You shouldn't have come ashore here.", she explained.

"I needed to refuel me boat.", the sailor said in response. "I need t' be gettin' me supply of liquor and cigarettes to New York. Now are ye gonna be helpin' me or not?"

Before the conversation could continue, which probably wouldn't have ended in the sailor deciding to leave, something burst forward from behind the nearby barrels, resembling a humanoid snake. Most of the people there didn't recognise it, but Mark did. "Equiptile! I thought I beat you once."

Equiptile ran forward and grabbed the sailor, latching onto him and taking control of his body. He then picked up a stick and transfigured it into a sword, running forward with it. Equiptile then used his sword to slash at the 5 Rangers, knocking them over. He then turned and ran off.

"So, you've already beaten this guy?", Wayne said to Mark. "How did you do it?"

"Follow me and I'll show you.", came the answer, as the 5 set off running after the revived alien.

* * *

In the city, Tann growled at his fragmented sapphire. "This one doesn't have enough chaos phantom energy within itself. I need more." And so, he began chanting again.

* * *

In a quarry, the Rangers had caught up with Equiptile, who had summoned a group of Bio-Roids. Wayne took out a few with his Wing Saber, while Carrie did likewise with her Beak Blaster. Lulu flew through some of them, while Steven used one of the Bio-Roids as a projectile to knock a few more down.

"Good work team.", Mark said after all the Bio-Roids had been taken out. "Now we just need to free that sailor and take out Equiptile. Aim for his back. It's where his weak point is."

"Got it.", Carrie said, aiming her AviAttacker. She set it to aim for the alien's back and fired, disorientating Equiptile so the sailor was free. "That's phase one over and done with, now what?"

"We call in the big guns.", Mark replied. "Rover Launcher!"

**Cannon Mode! Maximum Firebird Impact!**

The blast hit Equiptile, destroying him once more. Only instead of an explosion, a whiff of black smoke was what emanated from where the alien had stood. "That's a new one.", Steven commented.

Before anyone could question it further, they received another call on their communicators. It was from van Lyden. "Rangers, we've picked up two more signals in different areas. You should split up and go to these two sets of co-ordinates. The co-ordinates flashed onto the Ranger's visors, as the call ended."

"Okay, team. We have a mission.", Mark said. "Lulu and Steven will handle the first location's monster, while Wayne and Carrie handle the second one."

Steven was confused. "Aren't you coming?", he asked.

"I've got something I need to check out.", was the response. "So let's split up ga…"

"Don't you even dare to try and finish that sentence, Goodman.", Wayne interrupted. Then he and Carrie set off for their location, while Lulu and Steven went to theirs.

Mark was now alone. "Something's causing these signals to pop up.", he thought. Then he brought up a map on his read outs, with the three locations marked. "I just need to triangulate where it is."

* * *

At the first location, Steven and Lulu came face-to-mandibles with their opponent. "Cannant!", Lulu said. "I thought we got rid of this guy."

"We'll just have to do it again.", Steven assured her, charging in with his Sky Enforcer. Lulu sighed in acceptance and joined him, brandishing her Wing Saber. During the ensuing fight, Cannant barely tried to defend himself, or fight back. Eventually, when Lulu slashed him hard enough, the alien exploded into the same black mist as Equiptile, which now enveloped the two Rangers. When it cleared, they were now laughing evilly.

* * *

And in the second location, Wayne and Carrie met their opponent, the Hybrasect that the former had dubbed Kurorg. "What is this, returning villains week?", Carrie asked, annoyed by the situation.

"I hope not.", Wayne said back to her. He leapt forward and began slashing at the Hybrasect. "I hate reruns.", he said as he stabbed Kurorg. However, like Cannant with the other two, Kurorg exploded into black mist, which enveloped Wayne and reached to affect Carrie as well.

* * *

In the city, Mark had managed to triangulate the source of the energy and travelled to that location. "Well, I knew you were still out there, Tann. I just knew it."

Tann smiled at being uncovered. "Well, well. Mark Goodman. How fortuitous for me that you, the source of all my troubles, were the one to find me. By the way, how is your little girlfriend? Still reeling from what I did to her?"

Mark was angered by this. "This ends here, Tann. You have no superiors, no inferiors, no powers and any reinforcements you could muster up don't even know you're alive. Why not just face it? You're finished."

"I am still Tann! Conqueror of 39 worlds.", was the deposed overlord's response. "I will not allow myself to rest until I have repaid you for the loss of my soldiers." He pulled up his arm, as if to check a watch. "And your wrong. I do have some reinforcements coming in any minute now."

"What're you talking about?", Mark asked. Before he could get an answer, the other 4 Rangers flew down from the sky. However, instead of greeting him, they all drew their Beak Blasters and fired at him. "Some greeting.", Mark commented, as he picked himself up."

"Those phantom soldiers I summoned were merely phase one of my plan.", Tann stated, as he laughed evilly. "My real intention was to fill all of your friends with Chaos Phantom Energy, transforming them into my allies. Like I said, you took my soldiers from me, Mark Goodman. I am merely returning the favour."

"So you've done something to their brains.", Mark stated. "One of your monsters already tried this one a while ago. I just have to get them to detransform and then morph again."

Wayne slashed at him before he could do anything. "Too bad you're not going to get that chance, Goodman. Because I'm about to finish you here and now."

Lulu pushed Wayne aside. "Out of the way. If anyone's going to kill Mark, then it'll be me. Then maybe I'll be in charge of this team."

"You?", Steven said as he butted in. "Don't make me laugh, short fry."

"They can't agree with each other anymore.", Mark thought to himself. "Tann's brainwashing worked too well. I've got something of a reprieve, it seems."

As he thought this, he was attacked by Carrie. "Don't think because the other 3 are hesitating that I'll do likewise.", she said. "I never hesitate."

"That's a good thing.", Mark said. "Because neither do I." He summoned his Sky Enforcer and ran towards her, with the White Ranger doing the same.

* * *

Onboard the ship, Galvahex detected the battle on the scanner. "Lord Algrin, I think you should observe this."

Algrin emerged from his chambers, in a huff. "What is it, robot? I'm in the middle of an experiment."

"It seems that the Ranger team are fighting among themselves.", Galvahex said in response. "It also seems that the late Emperor Tann is actually still very much early."

"What?", Algrin blurted out as he looked at the screen. Sure enough, Tann was standing there, clutching his right hand. Algrin's attitude improved. "I have a special place for the Emperor in my project. Go down and collect him."

"I have a better idea.", Galvahex replied. "I have something I'd like to try out." Something stepped out of the shadows, astonishing Algrin.

* * *

Down in the city, Mark had been downed by all 4 of his teammates. "Do you think I might get a last-minute rescue?", he asked.

"Oh I think you might just get one.", Carrie replied. Then she turned around and fired on the brainwashed Rangers. "In fact, I'm sure you might."

Tann was furious. "What? But how? You should've been totally within my power."

"Too bad your little gas attack barely touched me.", Carrie answered him. "My friend Wayne took the brunt of it, while I just played along."

"It doesn't matter how many of you are unaffected.", Wayne said, brandishing his sword. "Because we're still the greater force by sheer numbers."

"Can you buy me some time?", Mark asked Carrie. "I only need a few minutes."

"I can give you about 2.", was Carrie's answer. She then engaged the brainwashed Lulu and Steven, countering and defending from both their blows.

"Wayne then swung his Wong Saber at Mark, who blocked with his own. "It doesn't matter what plan you're trying to pull off, Goodman.", the now-evil Black Ranger gloated. "We'll defeat you before you can begin it."

"I don't need to defeat you to carry out this plan, Wayne.", Mark told him. "All I need is time." He summoned up his communicator. "Connect to central computer. Command function override, code 10."

"_Override accepted_.", a computerised voice on the other end.

Wayne realised what Mark was trying to do. "Wait, what are you -?"

"Computer, disable Black, Yellow and Blue power chips. Command code zero zero zero disable B Y Bl(pronounced like bell), zero!"

"_Command accepted_.", the voice on the other end stated. "_B Y Bl chips now disabled_."

Before Wayne, Steven or Lulu could react, they were overcome with a mild shock. The chips within their communicators flew out, reverting them to their human forms. Mark grabbed Wayne's chip, while Carrie grabbed the other two. "If you want these back, you'll have to beat me first.", she gloated before running off, with her two pursuers.

Wayne merely smiled creepily. "I know what you're trying to do. You want me to take the chip back so I can regain my Ranger powers, but the shock of morphing again will revert my mind to its normal state. I was there when Lulu got affected by Crystallia too."

"Well then.", Mark said, demorphing himself. "Looks like you and I are going to have to settle this the old fashioned way."

* * *

Across the city, Steven and Lulu were still fighting against Carrie, who held a clear upper hand against them. WhenLulu tried charging forward, Carrie merely grabbed her by the hood of her jacket and flung her. "Haven't you learned anything kiddo?", Carrie said. "You might be good, but I'm still better."

As she finished talking, she was grabbed from behind by Steven. "Now, Lulu. Grab the chips."

"You're not the boss of me.", Lulu said, despite opening up Carrie's hand anyway. However, what she saw was not what she wanted. "Only my chip's here. I guess I'll have to beat the location of the other one out of her." She put her chip back into her communicator and morphed. "Let's Fly!" As before the shock of morphing returned her mind to normal. "What? Where am I?"

Before Steven could react, Carrie fought herself free and overpowered her friend. "Okay Lulu, I'm gonna need you to demorph."

"What? Why?"

"I hid the yellow power chip in your hood.", Carrie clarified. "You're gonna need to demorph if we're to bring him back to normal."

* * *

Back on the other end of the street, Mark and Wayne's fistfight continued, with neither showing signs of abating. "Come on, Wayne. You don't really want to do this.", Mark said, hoping to calm his friend down. "Do you really hate me?"

"Believe me, it's incredibly easy for me to loathe you.", Wayne said in response. "You caused me to get kicked out of the military,"

"You did that to yourself.", Mark pointed out.

Wayne ignored him. "Plus you're Mr. Big shot-Gordon's-personal-favourite-among-us. Since she picked you out all those years ago, you've basically been her golden child, fighting to get the bad aliens off this planet. And you never questioned her until Avior pointed out the holes in her story. I bet she'll have no trouble making you her successor when she leaves."

Mark immediately stopped fighting when he hear this. His voice also lost all emotion. "Truth be told, Wayne. Given the choice, I'd rather have never gotten involved with Gordon. All I want is my normal life back."

"Tough, since I'm about to make sure you don't get any type of life after this."

But before Wayne could finish his opponent off, he was knocked backwards by a flying kick from Lulu. "How was that, coach?"

"Not bad, but your timing was slightly off.", Carrie replied, accompanied by a now un-brainwashed Steven. "Now we just need to hold him down long enough for his chip to be reinserted."

"I think I can do that.", Steven nodded as he went to hold down the legs.

Mark took the opportunity, running forward to put the chip back in its place. He then reached for the Change Bracelet, pressing that as well. With a flash, Wayne was now morphed once again, with his conscience restored. "What happened?", he asked.

"Tann forced you to fight me, but I freed you.", was Mark's answer. "Speaking of which."

Tann came lumbering forward. "Noooo! This shouldn't be. This was supposed to be my victory."

"Anyone else getting tired of this guy?", Mark asked. He and the others all morphed, with his arm pulled up with the communicator on it. "Rover Launcher!"

**Cannon Mode! Red Black Yellow White Blue Charge! All Charge, Combine! Maximum Firebird Bombardment!**

As the blast flew forward, Tann felt everything around him stop. At first he felt relieved, until he heard the sound of clanking metal footsteps coming forwards.

As the smoke cleared, the Rangers were all shocked to see Algrin standing there in his Berserker Mode. "I'd like to thank you, Rangers.", he said with a much deeper voice than usual. "You've helps me deal with my last obstacle to ultimate power."

"You mean thanks to us, this guy is the new leader of the Dominion?", Lulu asked as she indicated Algrin. "Way to make me feel bad about winning."

Algrin then blasted the 5 with lightning from his hand, before vanishing into thin air.

* * *

Sometime later, Tann woke up to find himself in a clear glass capsule. "Where am I?", he demanded to know. "Whoever is foolish enough to contain me will pay with his life." He reached for his gauntlet arm, only to find the gauntlet had been removed, leaving him with a scarred hand.

Algrin stepped forward, still in his Berserker Mode. "I should thank you, my Emperor. Thanks to you, I've been able to complete an experiment. As to what the experiment is, well just look in the capsule opposite you." Tann looked to see the dead body of his sister Uuhcura. "Ah yes, I neglected to tell you that while the Rangers did kill your sister, myself and my followers were instrumental in that defeat. Since then, I've been using her body both to improve on my own and to create a new type of foot-soldiers. Now I intended to use her body and revive it as my ultimate creature of destruction. But I needed a supply of living cells from her species to complete the process. "Yours should suffice."

Tann got angry at this. "Algrin, you traitor! Release me at once! Let us settle this matter with your execution."

Algrin ignored him and flicked a switch on the Fusionlizer. "Goodbye, 'my Emperor'." The machine whirred into life, dissolving Tann and Uuhcura into base cells, that were then begun to be grafted onto the body of what was once Yas Rushton.

"Soon, my creation.", Algrin gloated. "Soon the Earth will fall beneath your might. And the Dominion will have no choice but to accept me as their new leader."

* * *

Elsewhere in the ship, Galvahex assessed his experiment. "The test wasn't conclusive. The time machine made for a most admirable Hybrasect. It's ready to be deployed in the battlefield." Within the darkness, a single glow of red emanated.


	29. The Resurrection of Uuhcura

In the middle of a fairly sunny day in Winter Valley, Mark found Steven staring solemnly into the distance. "Hey there, mind if I join you in your reverie?", he asked.

"Go ahead.", Steven answered him. "I'm just staring at the scenery, for what might be the last time."

Mark was surprised by his friend's sudden display of what was seemingly pessimism. "Wow. Didn't think you'd be such a downer about our situation as it is. We're still winning against the Dominion, even if Algrin is in charge now."

"It's not that.", Steven shook his head. "It's just that I'm probably going to be returning to my own decade soon, especially with Wayne working on the thing that brought me here in the first place."

"I wouldn't get down over that.", Mark assured him. "After all, Jangar's ship has technology that could probably put even our greatest minds on Earth to shame. Wayne might take months to figure it out, maybe decades. Besides, even if he does manage to perfect it before we win, none of us would want you to go. You're a valuable part of the group, and we need you to help us at a bad time." He put his hand on his teammate's shoulder. "Don't worry about your future. Focus more on the past."

Steven smiled at his friends words. "Thanks for the advice, Mark. I needed that."

As the two turned around, they found themselves face to face with a new Hybrasect. This one resembled a woolly mammoths, with a visor tinted red, a clock on his head and an hourglass at the end of his trunk. "Really going a bit too far with the time motif, aren't you?", Mark commented.

"I am Chronophant.", the Hybrasect declared. "What a surprise. The Red and Yellow Rangers, both the items on my to-do list."

"If you think you can do better than the other rank-and-file bugs, then you're mistaken.", Steven said. "Do you really think exposing yourself to us right away was the right idea?"

Mark and Steven both reached for their bracelets, announcing "Let's Fly!" A flash of light later, the two were now morphed and running towards Chronophant.

"Oh I have a little edge over all my brothers and sisters.", Chronophant declared. He waved his trunk, which had the ruby crystal dust inside glow red. A ripple surrounded the area, freezing everyone and everything but Chronophant in place. "Namely, I can stop time in its tracks and do a little meddling." He walked over to the two Rangers and rubbed his arm gently along their chests. "And let's see what happens now.", he said as he walked off, his hourglass glowing once again.

As time unfroze, the two Rangers were knocked back by the force of the rubbing, which had been amplified by the acceleration of the motion in real time. "What happened?", Steven asked as he looked around, rubbing his head.

"Chronophant's gone.", Mark noted as he registered his surroundings. "We'd better get back to Lowfall and discuss it with the others."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Chronophant returned to be greeted by Galvahex. "Excellent work my creation.", the robot said sincerely. "Once again, your powers have shown themselves to be impressive enough to counter the Rangers."

"Of course, but I already knew that.", Chronophant bragged. "After all, you wouldn't have taken out that poser Tann without me."

* * *

_Tann saw the Rangers and the blast from their Rover Launcher frozen in front of his eyes. At first, he was tempted to breath a sigh of relief, thinking himself safe. Then he heard the clanking of metal feet heading towards him. "Who's there?", he demanded. "Show yourself."_

_He turned around to be greeted by Algrin, who was being accompanied by Galvahex and Chronophant. "Don't be scared, my Emperor. After all, we saved you from the Rangers' fate for you.", Algrin said._

_"You!", Tann said, shocked. "You finally came to recover me. I should have you punished for your failure to act faster."_

_"You seem to have misunderstood my Master's words, when he said you were saved from the Rangers.", Galvahex pointed out._

_"Yes, I must admit my motives were entirely selfish.", Algrin smiled. "I saved you so that I could take your power for myself." He jammed his hand into the body of Tann, sapping him until the Emperor was unconscious. To celebrate this, Algrin transformed into his Berserker Mode. "This power is incredible. I feel like I could do anything.", he bragged._

_"What should we do with the former Emperor?", Chronophant asked._

_"Teleport him to these coordinates.", Algrin said, displaying a hologram. "And then restart the paused time. I wish to make a big announcement to the Rangers."_

_"As you wish.", Galvahex said, teleporting Tann to the given location, even though he didn't recognise it. He then grabbed the flames launched by the Rangers' weapon and absorbed the heat energy, all to refuel his systems and downplay the power of the blast. He then teleported out as Chronophant resumed time._

* * *

Galvahex dismissed Chronophant to continue his own devices and went back to thinking. "Algrin, what're you planning?"

Within his room, Algrin observed his creation, as it continued to grow. "Soon, my Neo-Mutabrid. Soon all will bow before you and I."

* * *

Back at the Lowfall, Mark and Steven had shared their story with the others. "And we don't know how that Hybrasect did… whatever it did to us."

"You think this one has super speed.", Lulu asked.

"It doesn't seem likely.", Wayne pointed out. "They generally seem to have powers based on their materials. Like Shutterbug having the power to trap us in pictures, being made from a camera."

"And Replakor had the power to copy people's appearance, like a chameleon copying its environment to blend in.", Carrie added.

"But what power would an elephant covered in time related stuff have?", Lulu asked.

Everyone thought about it for a while, before Mark came up with an answer. "What if this thing can slow down time around him to the point he can do everything he wants before we can even move to stop him?"

"Atomic clock manipulation.", Wayne pondered. "This is gonna be a tricky one to beat, unless we can distract him before he can use his powers."

"And even beating him in our current state will be difficult.", Carrie commented. "The Rover Launcher is in for upgrades and our AviAttackers are being examined for mass production. We're stuck with our basic equipment."

"Maybe there's something in the security recordings of our last encounter with him.", Steven suggested. "Something we can use to counter his powers."

"It's worth a shot.", Mark said.

* * *

At the air base, technic Lefee walked into Major James' medical ward, to say a few words. However, she was shocked to see that the patient was moving. The woman in the hospital bed burst awake, taking in her surroundings. "Where am I?", she asked before getting a good look at her visitor. "Lefee, is that you?" The technic didn't know what to say in this situation.

* * *

In the town, Chronophant was once again on the attack, blowing steam that exploded some of the remaining intact buildings in the empty city. "Come on out, Rangers!", he growled. "Come out and face me. If you can, that is."

As if on cue, he was attacked by all 5 Rangers, with Mark and Wayne starting the attack with a pair of kicks, followed by a similar pair from the girls. Finally, Steven jumped forward and punched him in the chest. "You wanted us, you've got us.", he said.

"This is really good for me.", the Hybrasect laughed. "My count will be five for five. Not bad for a second try." He then fired a blue beam from his tusks, initiating the time pause again. "And the best part is that you losers can't do anything about it."

However, as he approached the frozen heroes, Steven moved out of position and kicked him. "Never ignore the one guy who uses his fists." He then fiddled about to reveal two hairs in his arm, one of which he wrapped around his wrist, with the other one being wrapped around Mark's wrist. "Especially when it lets him take a souvenir."

With the hair around his wrist, Mark was unpaused by Chronophant's powers. "Thanks for that, Steven. Our plan worked exactly as we hoped."

"Plan?", Chronophant said, confused. "What plan?"

"We figured that the only reason you were able to move inside your little bubble was exposure to the energy given off by your machine.", Steven clarified. "Your whole body's saturated in that energy."

"So we just had to get a piece of you, or rather at most 5 pieces.", Mark continued. "Then we could continue to fight you inside your own house."

And so the fighting resumed, with Mark slashing at the Hybrasect with his Wing Saber, and Steven shooting at it with his two firearms. Eventually, Steven ran forward and pulled on Chronophant's hourglass, breaking it off. "Let's see how well your powers work without this."

"No!", Chronophant yelled as time restarted, with the other 3 Rangers moving again.

"Wha it, I'm confused.", Lulu said. "How did you guys get over there?"

"They must've pulled off our plan to infiltrate the time freeze.", Wayne clarified.

"Which mean that all we have to do is defeat this thing and then we can go home.", Carrie concluded.

"You guys are awful.", Chronophant began blubbering like a baby, as his hourglass regrew, only empty. "I'm getting away from you horrid people." With that said, he turned face and ran away.

"Oh no you don't.", Wayne said, throwing a small device onto the Hybrasect before it completely got away. "Now then, let's get back to the Lowfall. There I can show you what I just put on that thing."

"Good idea.", Mark said in response. "Let's get back to base."

* * *

In a cave, Chronophant was chomping down on the ruby crystal that gave him his powers. "Those awful Rangers. Now I'm gonna power up on the energy within these rocks and power up." As he continued to consume the crystals, he eventually began to glow and enlarge to giant size, breaking the cave ceiling off in the process. "Now I'll prove I'm no small fry.", he declared.

* * *

On the ship, Algrin saw the giant Chronophant appear in the city. "This should provide ample distraction to deploy my creation.", he said as he turned to the Neo-Mutabrid. While still humanoid, it was more reptilian, with a long neck, scythe-like tendrils for arms (multiple other tendrils on both arms) and glowing red eyes. There was also what looked like a face on its neck. The Neo-Mutabrid snarled as it teleported down and began growing.

* * *

At the Lowfall, Wayne brought up a computer display to show the others what the small device he had planted could do. "I realised that a lot of the time, the enemy gets away and it takes us a lot longer than it should to find them."

"Tell me about it.", Lulu commented.

"Which is why I invented this homing device to help us find them easier." Wayne brought up an image. "In a moment, we'll know where that thing is hiding." When the image came up, it showed a large picture of Chronophant from a ground view."

"That's not good.", Mark realised. "He's already figured out a way to grow without our help. We need to take care of him with the Icarus, come on."

As Mark, Wayne, Carrie and Lulu ran out of the room, Steven prepared to follow them. Then he noticed a flash in the corner of his eyes. He turned around to see the others were now somehow behind him, all 4 now morphed. "How did you get over there?", he asked. "You just left."

"I'd like to know the same thing.", Lulu said in response. "And what do you mean 'we just left'? We haven't been back here in…"

"22 minutes.", Mark concluded in a matter of fact tone. "That portal didn't just send us back to this place, it also displaced us in time. Chronophant's getting stronger, if he's able to pull a stunt like this."

"I don't understand.", Steven said. "You say you've already dealt with the Hybrasect you just set out to fight?"

"Don't try to understand time travel.", Wayne assured him. "And we didn't actually deal with him. He came back through the portal with us. We don't know where he is now."

Suddenly, the building was rocked by a tremor. "I think that answers that question.", Carrie commented.

"We need to stop him.", Mark said as he pulled up his communicator. "We need the vehicles ready, now."

* * *

At the base, Ratcliffe noticed something on his monitor. "That's odd, I'm getting the same readings for 4 of the Rangers and a Hybrasect twice."

"Probably just a computer glitch.", Lefee tried to assure him. "It's probably just our luck it happened on our shift." Then she noticed somehing else on the monitor. "Hang on, I don't recognise that thing. What is it?"

"I don't know.", was Ratcliffe's answer. "But whatever it is, it's getting bigger and heading for one of the Rangers' locations."

"What?" Both Ratcliffe and and Lefee turned around to see Mary, out of bed. "We've got to warn them."

"I would Miss, but we don't know where to call.", Ratcliffe responded. "There are two copies of the same frequency, so we're having difficulties."

"Then I'll go out and warn them myself." Mary turned around and ran out of the building, with Lefee making a futile effort to try and stop her.

* * *

In the chasm, the Rangers of the present descended, with Lulu realising something. "Where's Steven? Shouldn't he have come with us?"

"That's not the only weird thing going on.", Carrie noted. "I've tried calling my Swan Sonic, but nothing's happening. As if someone's already using it."

"My frequencies are also getting nothing but interference.", Mark noted. "We'll have to check once we get back to the city."

It was then that the giant Chronophant appeared in front of them. "So you came to stop me in the nick of time, eh Rangers?", he gloated. "Well your time has run out."

"I hate the ones that always crack jokes.", Wayne commented. "What're we supposed to do, if we can't even call for help and we're down a couple of weapons?"

"We improvise.", Mark answered. He then took out his Wing Saber and his Beak Blaster, assembling his Hyper Cannon with them. The others did likewise, following his lead. "Aim for the part where Steven hit him earlier."

"Roger." All 4 aimed and fired at the bump, causing the giant Hybrasect to stagger.

"Why you.", Chronophant growled. The damage caused his clock to generate a portal with an image of the city on the other side. He then jumped into the portal, vanishing through it.

"He must have learned how to get back to the city using those portals.", Wayne theorised. "Fascinating."

"Never mind that now.", Lulu pointed out. "We need to follow him."

With that said, all 4 leapt up and glided into the portal, as it closed. On the other side, they found themselves back in the hotel, with a confused Steven turning around to see them. " How did you get over there?", he asked. "You just left."

"I'd like to know the same thing.", Lulu said in response. "And what do you mean 'we just left'? We haven't been back here in…"

"22 minutes.", Mark concluded in a matter of fact tone. "That portal didn't just send us back to this place, it also displaced us in time. Chronophant's getting stronger, if he's able to pull a stunt like this."

"I don't understand.", Steven said. "You say you've already dealt with the Hybrasect you just set out to fight?"

"Don't try to understand time travel.", Wayne assured him. "And we didn't actually deal with him. He came back through the portal with us. We don't know where he is now."

Suddenly, the building was rocked by a tremor. "I think that answers that question.", Carrie commented.

"We need to stop him.", Mark said as he pulled up his communicator. "We need the vehicles ready, now."

**Vehicle Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Sonic! Plane! Take Off! Go, Go!**

The 4 Rangers ran out of the hotel, leaving a confused Steven behind to try and catch up, again.

* * *

Out in the city, Chronophant continued his rampage. "Look at me, a big pachyderm in the big city.", he shouted.

Then he saw 4 of the Ranger's vehicles heading towards him. "I'm still confused about this whole time travel stuff.", Lulu said. "Are we know older by twenty minutes? If that's the case, then what do we classify as midnight?"

As she pondered this, Lulu's Swallow Plane was grabbed by Chronophant. "No, Lulu!", Mark cried out.

Chronophant then began to swing his captive around as if he was playing with a toy. "Let me go.", Lulu cried out. "Stop that, this thing is expensive."

**Vehicle Shift, On! Jet! Take Off! Go, Go!**

The Owl Jet appeared above the Hybrasect, a rock in its claw. "And release.", a now-morphed Steven yelled, as he pressed a button.

The Owl released its load onto Chronophant's head, causing him to let go of the Swallow Plane. "Thanks for that.", Lulu said.

"Don't mention it.", Steven radioed back. "Let's just combine and deal with this thing."

"Okay.", everyone responded, as they inserted their chips into their consoles, beginning the sequence.

**Action Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane! Icarus Megazord! Take Off! Go, Go!**

The Icarus now engaged it's opponent in battle, with Chronophant getting the upper hand. "Man this thing's tough, but we can beat it.", Steven declared.

As he said that, multiple explosions rocked the city, smashing buildings and conveniently destroying Chronophant. "But it's not my time yet.", the Hybrasect cried as he was destroyed. As the explosions cleared, everyone say the body of the Neo-Mutabrid, standing tall amongst the city.

"Man, what's that thing?", Mark asked. Before he could get an answer, he saw someone on the ground, with a zoom in letting him make out who it was. "No it can't be." He got up out of his seat. "There's something I need to take care of. Wayne, take the wheel." Before any complaints could be registered, he was out of the room and making his way to the ground.

"I can't believe he's doing this.", Wayne said, as he moved to the centre seat. "But if he wants me to clean up this mess, then I'm not going to complain." The Icarus flew in to face its new opponent.

* * *

On the ground, Mark ran out to the person he had seen on the monitor. Sure enough, it was who he thought it was. "Mary, you're awake!", he said as he hugged her. "But what're you doing here?"

"I came here to warn you guys about that thing.", was Mary's answer. "But it seems I'm too late."

* * *

Up in the cockpit, Wayne commenced the battle with the Neo-Mutabrid. "Flying Knuckle!" But this did nothing to buffet the creature.

"He deflected it.", Steven said, worried.

"Then let's try something with a sharp edge.", Wayne replied. "Icarus Saber!" The Icarus commenced an attack with it's main weapon, only for said weapon to be broken on impact. "This guy's a tough one. Falcon Corde, go!"

**F-F-F-Falcon!**

The second robot appeared and commenced its combination.

**Miracle Falcombine!**

**Ultimate Action Shift, On! Hawk Flier! Condor Zoom! Owl Jet! Swan Sonic! Swallow Plane! Falcon Corde! Birdonic Ultrazord! Take Off! Go, Go, GO!**

The Ultrazord tried a punch attack, which had minimal effect. "Time to break out the big guns. Black Hole Crusher!", everyone declared. The creature began to walk forward, taking the blast and shrugging it off, to everyone's surprise. It then drove its claws through the robot's chest, buffeting everyone in the cockpit out of their morphed state. It then knocked its robotic opponent down before vanishing."

"Man, what was that thing?", Lulu asked.

"Best guess: the end of everything we hold dear.", Carrie answered. "And we don't know when we'll be facing that thing again."


	30. The End Begins

_In the last instalment of Power Rangers Wing Force, Algrin finally created his ultimate monster, the Neo-Mutabrid, by fusing the DNA of Queen Uuhcura and Emperor Tann onto the body of Yas Rushton. The result of this experiment wiped out a Hybrasect and crippled even the Ultrazord. Meanwhile, Mary woke up from her coma, much to Mark's surprise._

* * *

Fwelf and Galvahex looked down at the damage that Algrin's monster had created. "This is amazing. Algrin's managed to create something capable of toppling those Rangers.", Fwelf smiled. "We were right to make him our leader."

"Your flattery does you credit, Fwelf.", Algrin said in response. "Thanks to what you described about the information the late Queen gave to you about Mutabrids and seeing her powers for myself, I came up with the notion of creating a superior creation, with none of the weaknesses of the original Mutabrid. And I must thank Galvahex for finding the perfect body onto which I transplanted the DNA. It helped make my creation far superior than it would be if it was using a Mutasect."

"You're welcome.", Galvahex replied with a hint of annoyance. "But are you sure that you can control this creation of yours. You seemed to have overlooked one small flaw in the creature."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"Surely the creature would've returned to the ship by now, if it was really yours to command.", was Galvahex's answer. With that said, he walked out of the room.

Algrin thought for a moment, then realised that the robot's words had merit. "Where is my creation? It should've returned here on instinct."

Fwelf went over to a relay and brought up a map, with a signal coming up at a quarry. "It seems to have retreated to the quarry. Probably due to lingering memories from its genetic material."

"Send down the U-Clones to retrieve it."

Fwelf was startled by this. "But my Lord, we only have a handful of them left. Once these are gone, we'll have no way to make more after you created the Neo-Mutabrid."

"I don't care!", Algrin snarled. "I need that creature back. Now obey me and send out the U-Clones."

* * *

Down on Earth, the Rangers had regrouped at the air base (the Lowfall having been among the buildings claimed by the last attack), alongside Mary and the two on-duty technicians Ratcliffe and Lefee. Mary had now changed out of the hospital pyjamas she had been wearing into combat fatigues, similar to what the Rangers had taken to wearing recently (other than Mark and Steven, who already had military uniforms). "So do we have any idea what that thing is?", Lulu asked. "Seems like a good place to start."

"From what we saw, this creature gives off 3 separate energy signals.", Ratcliffe informed everyone. "Two of them are Tann and someone very similar to him."

Steven looked over to Carrie. "You don't think that…?"

"No.", Carrie shook her head. "She died. We were all there when it happened."

Mary then asked what everyone seemed to be overlooking. "What's the third energy signature. If it's distinct from Tann and the other one, it must be another species entirely. Maybe even Algrin himself. I wouldn't put it past him for this to have been what he was planning."

Mark was surprised to hear this. "Wait, you knew that Algrin had a plan underway?"

Mary nodded. "While I was still in my Halatia persona, on the night after we'd defeated Uuhcura and Kodokor. I was returning to the ship with some sources of different animal DNA to use for Hybrasects, I saw Algrin moving the body of Queen Uuhcura into a secret room. He was talking about his plans for it and that he'd soon make the world pay. I wasn't able to see much else, other than a group of tubes, with the body placed into one of them. And before I could confront Algrin on it, I got restored to my normal self by a blast from a Beak Blaster and reverted to normal."

"That was convenient for you.", Wayne said, not willing to admit that he was the one who had shot her. "How did you remember this? You said that Halatia and Mary were two separate personalities."

"You see a lot of things when you're unconscious, Wayne.", Mary answered him. "I saw everything that Halatia did using my body while I was out cold and frankly, it sickened me more living through it a second time."

"I think we should get back on topic.", Lefee interrupted. "As Miss James pointed out, the third energy reading in that creature was different form the other two. Namely, because it's a human in there rather than whatever species Tann is from. In fact, it's similar to the energy signature of the time traveller from the other day."

"So that's what happened to Rushton.", Mark realised. "How's our situation concerning equipment and backup?"

"The vehicles are undergoing repairs to be ready within two hours, we can return your AviAttackers to you and Gordon and the two Avions said they'd be coming back to try and help with the situation, as did Captain Rolfe's team.", came the answer from Ratcliffe. "But for now, we're on our own, with only you five to defend us from that thing."

"Not just five.", Mark said. He stood up and retrieved Halatia's sceptre from a table on which it was lying. He then went over to Mary. "What do you say? We could use your help in stopping this thing and you've got the power to help us."

Mary was taken aback by this. "I'm sorry, I can't do this." She then stood up and bolted out of the room.

Mark sighed. "I'll go talk to her.", he said as he ran out after her.

Lulu sulked and put her hand to her chin. "I guess all we can do now is wait for something to happen."

* * *

Out in the quarry that Fwelf had observed on his scanner earlier, the Neo-Mutabrid staggered around, as if looking for something. It then stopped where it stood and growled into the air, before the last group of U-Clones teleported down to capture it. The creature looked at the lumbering brutes, with a gleam of recognition in its eyes. It then reached out all of its tendrils to touch the U-Clones, absorbing them into itself. "Reunite… as one.", the Neo-Mutabrid hissed, as it began to undergo a metamorphosis.

* * *

Back at the air base, Ratcliffe noticed something on his computer. "The signal from the creature is back. It's appeared at the quarry and it's fluctuating rapidly."

"Alright team, let's move out.", Wayne declared, taking charge in Mark's absence. The others got up, nodded affirmatively and set off for their vehicles. Wayne then went over to Ratcliffe. "You'll make sure that Gordon, Gliderak and Aluze know where we are?"

"You can count on it.", Ratcliffe assured him. Wayne gave him a thumbs up in return and set off himself.

Elsewhere, Mark caught up with Mary in a park. "Wow, you ran a long way from the base. And you are REALLY not easy to catch up with."

"I was always bronze at least in track meets.", Mary told him. "Sorry I ran off like that, but I just can't get what I did as Halatia out of my head." She pointed at the various ruined buildings in the skyline. "Most of those buildings up there are like that in part because of me."

"That wasn't your fault.", Mark tried to assure her. "You weren't in control."

"Not at first, yes.", Mary said in response. "But when I got freed of that influence, I didn't do anything to try and stop the Dominion's plans. Sure, I may have sabotaged Orpheus, but I could've prevented it from being built in the first place. And yet you trust me to help you, even after all that?"

"I trust you because of all that.", Mark said in response. "While you were out, Tann put 3 of the team under his control, like Uuhcura did to you. But I was able to get through to them and bring them back to our team, with our bond stronger than ever." He then walked forward with the sceptre held out. "Which is why I still trust you."

Mary apprehensively took the sceptre. "Are you really so sure you can trust me based on that experience? After all, I was compromised for longer than they were."

"And yet you've handled it well." Both Mark and Mary turned around to see Galvahex walking in from his ship. "Relax, Mark Goodman and Mary James. I'm not here for combat. You can chill."

"Was he just using contractions and slang?", Mark asked, confused by this.

"I think he's learning humanity.", Mary suggested. "Did you pick those up from my mind?"

"I - yes.", Galvahex replied. "Much as I have been loath to admit, I learned some human concepts from observing your brain scans. Even reaching back to our first meeting, I used your memories of compassion and mercy to help you live. Now, I'm only two steps away from achieving true humanity."

"What would those be?", Mark asked.

"The first thing that I lack is free will. I can make my own decisions, but the Dominion's programming dictates what I am allowed to follow."

Mary then asked what was on both their minds. "And what's the second thing?"

"I don't have a name of my own.", was the robot's answer. "Galvahex is simply my model name. I simply use it for lack of a better identification. By observing you, I learned that this only makes me seem like, as you say, a cog in a large machine."

"Then how about we try and fix that?", Mary suggested. "If you need a name, then how about… 'Oscar'?"

"'Oscar.' Yes, I like that.", Galvahex, now known as Oscar, replied. "Thank you, I won't forget what you have done for me, Mary." With that said, he turned around and teleported out.

"Do you still think you can't get over your evil days?", Mark asked. "After all, you managed to get through to him by doing next-to-nothing."

Mary sighed. "Well, I guess you're right." She picked up the sceptre. "Might as well throw caution to the wind."

* * *

At the quarry, Wayne and the others had arrived, only to find that there was no sign of the creature. "Are we sure that signal was accurate?", Lulu asked. "Because I don't see anything."

"It can't have been wrong.", Wayne replied. "Even if it was, we have to keep looking. Something set off the scanners and we could do with finding out whatever it was."

"Over there.", Carrie pointed at something. "There's someone coming out."

Everyone looked over to see that someone was indeed coming up. "Is that… Captain Rushton?", Steven asked. Sure enough, the figure came forward, resembling the time traveller from the other day.

"Is that what happened to him?", Wayne asked. "How did he set off our signal?"

"You've got to get away!", Rushton wheezed out. "She's about to -", he managed to get out before convulsing. As the Rangers looked on, disgusted, Rushton's body began to reshape itself, with bones crunching as they relocated themselves. As the grotesque magic trick completed itself, Rushton was gone.

In his place, the Rangers saw a woman wearing his clothes. An uncomfortably familiar one at that. "Ah, that's much better.", Uuhcura said. "But something's missing." Her eyes then glowed, reshaping the clothes into a replica of her robes as Queen. "Ah, now this is the real me."

"Not her again.", Lulu complained. "Didn't we already wipe you out?"

"My original body, yes child.", Uuhcura said in response. "But my treacherous subordinate Algrin saved my body, placing it in a machine to preserve it, while stealing parts of me for his brutish foot soldiers. But then he transplanted my body onto a living human, which provided me with a living vessel to help me revive myself. But the human's mind rejected mine, which prevented me from taking full control of his body. But then Algrin had my dear sweet brother Tann grafted onto this body also, and he gave his life so that I may overwhelm the human's conscious mind and control the body. But I still had some difficulty in controlling my new form, during which Algrin used me as his puppet to further wreck this city."

"You were that creature that attacked us earlier.", Wayne said, surprised.

"Yes, I believe Algrin called me his "Neo-Mutabrid", a crude title but definitely fitting as to my new situation. After I defeated you and your mechanical toy, I influenced the creature to retreat here, so that Algrin would send his U-Clones to retrieve me. Then I could reabsorb them and regain my power. Now that I am restored to more than my former power, I will once more lead the Dominion as it's rightful leader. This world is mine!"

"Sorry, your Majesty, but you seem to have overlooked one minor detail.", Wayne declared. "Namely, we're going to stop you. You guys ready?"

"Ready!", the other 3 replied. All four stepped forward and activated their change bracelets. "Let's Fly!" Wireframes surrounded all 4, onto which their suits were deposited.

Uuhcura merely smiled. "You seem to forget I have a transformation of my own." She then assumed her original Berserker Mode. "Let's see what you can do."

And so a fight began. It was horribly against the Rangers in terms of odds. Attempts by Steven and Lulu to attack Uuhcura directly didn't even put a dent in her body. When Wayne tried striking with his Wing Saber, Uuhcura levitated it out of his hand and made it attack its owner.

Carrie then tried aiming her Beak Blaster. "I just need to try and hit her jewel again.", she said, remembering how she had defeated the Queen last time. But when she tried to get a lock, she found herself unable to. "I can't find the jewel."

"I'm sorry to break it to you vermin, but I don't need one anymore.", Uuhcura said, as she zapped Carrie backwards again. "Thanks to my brother's pickpocketing, I had my power sapphire merged into my DNA. I can use magic by myself now." She then demonstrated this by zapping all of the Rangers, knocking them down. "Nothing from this planet can possibly hurt me anymore."

Maybe not this planet." Uuhcura turned around to see Gordon, Gliderak and Aluze standing at the top of the cliff. "But let's see how you do against those of the planets you destroyed." The three then transformed into their alien forms. "We've been waiting a long time for this.", Jangar said.

Uuhcura humphed. "Well, well. A Keiam and two Avions. I thought you were all extinct. Well if not, then you soon will be."

* * *

Onboard the ship, Oscar returned. "Where have you been?", Algrin asked, annoyed. "I didn't order you to leave the ship."

"I took the initiative of analysing the situation on Earth.", Oscar said in response. "It seems that the late Queen Uuhcura isn't as long gone as we all thought. And she's taken the Neo-Mutabrid for herself as a shell."

Algrin fumed. "Even now, that witch conspires to take away my rightful place as ruler. How is she faring?"

"She has engaged the Rangers in battle. And she's winning.", was the answer.

"So the Neo-Mutabrid is still a force to be reckoned with.", Algrin said, happy with his success. "But we need to be able to control it more directly." He turned to Fwelf. "Move the ship closer to Earth. We're going to be making some changes to our plan." With that, he left the room."

Fwelf moved over to the control console, only stopping to say this to his robotic ally. "I know what you were really up to on Earth. You were seeing your human girlfriend. And I'm going to tell Algrin that you befriended the Rangers after this is over. He'll have you scrapped."

* * *

Down in the quarry, Uuhcura had finished with the three extraterrestrial combatants. You're no more of a challenge than these Rangers. Is there no one on this planet that can even challenge me?"

As if on cue, Mary appeared, holding Halatia's sceptre. "I don't know if I can, but I do owe you some payback for turning me into your puppet." She then slammed on the top of the sceptre, transforming once again into her Halatia attire. "And you just so happen to have given me what I need to do just that."

But in the ensuing fight, Mary fared no better than any of the others that had gone up against Uuhcura. "Some help she's turning out to be.", Lulu commented. Then she realised somehing, but decided not to blurt it out loud, for fear of disrupting whatever plan was in motion.

"You were pathetic as a servant and you're pathetic as an opponent.", Uuhcura said as she held up the defeated body of Mary. "Now where is your lover? I think it would be fitting if I slew both of you at the same time."

"Taking you on was never my plan.", Mary said. "It was my distraction."

Before Uuhcura could question this, she felt something press against her back. Everyone else saw that it was Mark, fully morphed and wielding a Sonic Smasher, with his Wing Saber plugged into the scope and with his Sky Enforcer activated. "That's a lot of weapons to use at once.", Aluze noted. "Whatever energy runoff they produce when used together would be catastrophic."

"That's why we've never tried anything like it.", Jangar replied. "Mark, do not go through with what you're about to do."

But Mark ignored her, igniting both weapons are once. This sent him flying backwards into the rock, but Uuhcura recoiled in pain. "How is this possible?", she exclaimed. "You actually damaged me? ME?"

"I just gave my weapons a little charge.", Mark said, as he recovered his bearings. "It's the same technique we use to power up the Rover Launcher. I really had no idea if it would work."

"Well it seems to have done so.", Gliderak pointed out. "You successfully managed to wound the Queen." He indicated the large scar left by the impact.

"You meddling imbeciles!", Uuhcura declared. "In that case, I'll use my new power to reduce you all to molten waste." She then metamorphosed into the Neo-Mutabrid, with the location of her regular face becoming the neck of her new form. She also enlarged to the giant size she had attained earlier.

"You seem to forget that we have measures for that.", Mark said, before opening his communicator. "We need the Icarus!"

**Take Off! Go, Go!**

Uuhcura turned around to be greeted by the Icarus. "Do you really think your pathetic little toy can hurt me? It barely scratched my finest warrior and my son."

"Maybe so.", Mark said. "But even if we don't come back alive, we know that we've done our best to defend the Earth from people who want to ruin it. Isn't that right guys?"

"You bet.", Wayne and Carrie answered.

"Let's do it.", Steven and Lulu said in response.

"Wing Axe!" The Icarus deployed its weapon and moved towards its opponent, slashing her multiple times. Aside from a few sparks, this had little effect. Uuhcura then caught the axe, threw out out of their hands and slashed the Icarus with her claws, knocking it back. "She's still to powerful.", Wayne blurted out.

"Is that the best you've got?", Uuhcura gloated, before firing a beam from her mouth. The Megazord was hit, but it emerged unscathed from the blow and continued forward. It then jumped into the air.

**Action Shift, On! Plane! Sonic! Jet! Zoom! Flier! Icarus Bomber! Take Off! Go, Go!**

"What?", Uuhcura gasped.

"Icarus Crash!", the Rangers declared as the Icarus Bomber heated up upon approach. However, Uuhcura not only deflected this, but the Icarus was knocked back into the Megazord combination. Uuhcura then attacked her downed opponent with a long prehensile tongue, pulling it towards her and grabbing it by the hands.

"Say goodbye, Rangers.", the Queen declared, preparing to bite down on the Icarus. The shockwaves generated by this action knocked the Rangers out of their morphed state.

"Why are our giant opponents always tougher than our smaller ones?", Lulu complained.

"You would think it's the other way around, given that we often end up fighting in the robot's without our Ranger suits.", Carrie agreed.

The Icarus was then knocked down, with Uuhcura preparing her claws for the finishing blow. Before she could do so, she was shot at from above. "What's that?", Steven asked. His question then answered itself, with the Falcon flying down from the sky.

"We thought you could do with the help.", Jangar radioed from the centre seat of the Rangers' secondary Megazord. Gliderak, Aluze and Mary were occupying three of the other seats.

"We should combine to defeat this thing.", Gliderak suggested. "Like we did last time."

"I like that idea.", Mark said back. "Let's do it."

**Miracle Falcombine!**

**Take Off! Go, Go, GO!**

The combined Birdonic Ultrazord walked up to Uuhcura, who once more deployed her tongue, knocking it back. In the cockpit, the pilots of the Flacon were now standing behind the Rangers (except for Carrie). "She's still too powerful.", Mary noted as the Ultrazord was buffeted by the tongue for a second and a third time.

The third time, the Queen kept the robot trapped in her tongue as she tossed it around. "Thank you for making yourself a bigger target.", she gloated. "Now I can destroy you while you use the same weapon that destroyed my son." After letting go, she grabbed the Ultrazord's head and began shaking it apart.

"You seem to be forgetting something, your highness.", Mark pointed out. "We still have another robot. Dash Boxer!"

**Vehicle Shift, On! Boxer! Take Off! Go, Go!**

Dash Boxer ran forward and hit Uuhcura in the same spot where Mark's powerful shot had hit her earlier, causing her to recoil in pain and release the Ultrazord. "She's still feeling the pain from that injury.", Aluze noted. "Perhaps we can exploit that."

"We'd need to make sure things were perfect enough to hit that exact spot.", Wayne said.

The Ultrazord managed to get a few good hits in on that spot, before Uuhcura turned around to stop them. "You insolent vermin.", she declared as she knocked then down. Then Dash Boxer landed several more hits on the wound. "Ahhh! How dare you!"

It was at this point that the Dominion mothership descended from the sky, teleporting itself onto the Neo-Mutabrid's waste. This not only covered up the wound, but it allowed Algrin to control the Queen from his ship. "Algrin!", Uuhcura snarled. "What are you up to now?"

"Thanks to you, I know that my Neo-Mutabrid is the best it can be.", Algrin declared. "By covering up the flaws and putting you under my ownership, you'll be the best creature of combat in the universe." Algrin then had Uuhcura fire her mouth beam at the Ultrazord, knocking it down. Dash Boxer then jumped into the air to attack, only to be deflected. "That's enough of hat.", Algrin declared as he tossed the smaller robot aside.

"How are we supposed to beat that thing now?", asked Steven.

"Let's just try destroying her here and now.", Gliderak suggested. "We can take all our enemies out at once this way."

Mark thought for a moment about Oscar, but then decided. "For the greater good. Black Hole Crusher!"

The Ultrazord launched its usual finishing move at the enemy. "That won't work here.", Algrin declared. "Galvahex, raise the shields."

"Sir.", Oscar responded. A force field surrounded the Neo-Mutabrid's form as the beam hit.

"He deflected it.", Jangar said in shock.

"Now nothing can stop my ultimate weapon!", Algrin declared. "Nothing!" He then burst out laughing, being joined by Fwelf, but not Oscar.

"Algrin, you insolent!", Uuhcura's voice echoed. "Release me at once. I am your Queen."

"I think I've got an idea.", Mark suggested. "We need to separate if we want to defeat this thing. I'll take the Falcon and you guys stay in the Icarus and wait for my signal."

Mary was concerned by his choice. "What do you mean, on your own? You're not planning what I think you're planning."

"Relax.", Mark assured her. "I'll be back. But if I'm not, then I want you to look after Lulu for me. Hopefully it won't come to that." He then turned to Wayne. "Can I trust you to take over the Icarus' operation?"

"Last time you asked me that, I ended up breaking the thing.", Wayne replied. "But yeah, you can trust me."

**Transfalcon!**

**Take Off! Go, Go!**

The Icarus and Falcon Megazords now stood side by side. Mark was now piloting the Falcon, with Wayne taking over his usual seat in the Icarus and Gliderak in Wayne's regular seat.

"That won't help you.", Algrin declared. He then had Uuhcura fire into the ground, launching rocks and dust at the two robots.

The Icarus was hit by one rock, knocking off its left arm and causing it to fall over. Thankfully, no-one was rendered unconscious. "Why is it always my Swallow that gets broken off?", Lulu asked. "I demand compensation."

"I've already tried that, back when Kodokor smashed my Swan off.", Carrie replied. "They owe us nothing, apparently."

"Ladies, if we survive this, I'll give each of you a thousand dollars.", Jangar said, turning back into June Gordon. "Let's just hope your brother knows what he's doing, Lulu."

Mark had he Falcon jump into the air and used the Scratch Break function. He hit the ship part of the Neo-Mutabrid, knocking it off and causing it to crackle and explode.

* * *

Inside the ship, the three commanders were attacked by falling debris. "What's happening?", Algrin asked.

"The ship has been lost to the Rangers, My Lord.", Oscar replied. "I'm teleporting all essential life forms off before we get caught up."

A blue gleam surrounded both Algrin and Oscar, causing them to vanish. "Hey, what about me?", Fwelf yelled. Then, before he could find and use a teleporter of his own, he saw some debris falling towards him. And then nothing else.

* * *

"I am free!", Uuhcura declared. "Thank you, Mark Goodman."

"You're not welcome.", Mark replied. He then had the Falcon walk forward and grab Uuhcura, exposing her back. "Now, Wayne. Use the Icarus Saber."

The Icarus stood up. "So that's what you were planning, Goodman?", Wayne asked. Then he continued as ordered. "Well, if this is what ends this long conflict for Earth, then so be it." The Icarus summoned its weapon and stabbed Uuhcura in her wounded area.

In the Falcon, Mark was buffeted from sparks created by the Saber slashing through the Falcon's reactor. "Eject!", he called out as he was launched from the cockpit, landing on the ground.

"This is impossible!", Uuhcura cried, as she and the Falcon Corde were completely engulfed by the explosion.

In the Icarus cockpit, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "It's over.", Steven said. "It's finally over."

"Yes.", Gordon added. "Queen Uuhcura and her entire invasion party, have been wiped out."

Mary could only look down solemnly at this thought. "Oscar.", she whispered.

* * *

In another area near the city, Algrin and Galvahex pulled themselves up, with the former noting that he had reverted to his regular form. "I can't change back to my Berserker Mode for now.", he growled. "Until I've recovered enough energy, I'm stuck like this." Then he noticed the glaring absence. "Where's Fwelf? Didn't you say that all essential life forms would be teleported to safety?"

"There was a glitch, my Lord.", Galvahex lied. In reality, he no longer considered Fwelf essential since the dwarfish alien had found out about his secret fascination with humanity. "Luckily, it did not affect our supplies of Carrionoid younglings. We have enough Mutasects and Hybrasects to launch a small assault."

"Why settle for a small assault?", asked Algrin. "When I can use my power to give us enough for a full scale attack!"

* * *

Back in the regular quarry, everyone descended to the ground to find Mark lying down with his eyes closed. Carrie ran forward and checked his pulse. "He's fine. He'll wake up soon."

"That's a relief.", Gliderak commented. "Because I want a word with him about sacrificing our ship like that."

"Weren't you working on a new one with Gordon?", Mark asked, regaining consciousness.

"Forgive my partner, he's still trying to understand the concept of humour.", Aluze replied.

"Thank god for that.", Mark said in response. "Besides, we can always rebuild another Falcon Corde from the remains of the original."

"That is if we need to.", Wayne said. "We took out the Dominion commanders as well as their ship and Uuhcura."

"It's over, big bro.", Lulu added. "We won."

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet.", Mary suggested. "We still have a lot to rebuild, plus we have no idea if they really went down with the ship."

"Exactly.", Mark added. "We should get the Icarus and Dash Boxer back to base and then prepare for the worst. We don't know what might happen next."

* * *

In his new temporary base, Algrin observed the massive army of Bio-Roids he had spawned. "I may have given up my energy to birth this army. But it'll be worth it to defeat the Rangers."

"Lord Algrin, the Mutasects and Hybrasects have been released into the city of Winter Valley.", Oscar reported. "They should all have found host bodies by tomorrow."

"Yes, now our final battle begins."


	31. Their Final Flight Part 1

At the air base, Caldwell and van Lyden returned from their previous assignment. "We came as soon as we could.", the former said. "What's the situation?"

"There isn't one.", Group captain Gordon replied. "But Flying Officer Goodman and Miss James think that we should expect something to have survived the destruction of the Dominion's mothership."

"And we know that Goodman generally knows what he's talking about when it concerns these matters.", van Lyden added. "But why does that require us back here?"

Gordon went over to a crate and began trying to pry it open. "I anticipated that we might be up against a large scale attack from the Dominion at some point." She opened the crate, revealing several Beak Blasters and AviAttackers. "So, with the help of Dr. Minami and the funding from the US Military, I made enough firearms for the Garuda technicians and the military group to fight off such an attack."

"Luckily, a lot of the Garuda crew have finished recovering from their treatment for what happened to them in captivity..", Caldwell noted. "But where are the army guys? I haven't seen them since I got back."

"Our scanning equipment got damaged beyond repair when Uuhcura destroyed Lowfall.", Gordon answered him. "So Captain Rolfe has them out patrolling the city for any signs of trouble. But so far, it's been quiet."

* * *

Out in (what was left of) Winter Valley, Corporal Jarvis' squadron were finishing up in the area that had used to be the Goodman residence's street. "Nothing here either, Corporal.", Private Dawson called out. "Can we call this area all clear?"

"We might as well.", Jarvis called back. "We've been at this all morning and we haven't seen hide nor hair of any trouble." As he said this, a Bio-Roid emerged from an alleyway and grabbed at one of the soldiers. Dawson and the other Privates all aimed their weapons at the enemy that had appeared. "Don't shoot! You might hit Lebowski."

Private Lebowski managed to break free from his captor and emptied his entire weapon at the Bio-Roid, killing it. "I think we managed to get rid of the problem, sir."

"I don't think that was the last of them.", Jarvis replied. As if on cue, an entire army of Bio-Roids emerged from the same alleyway, lead by a pair of Mutasects based on a sewing machine and a vacuum cleaner. "In fact, I'm sure of it."

* * *

And across the city, other military groups found themselves facing the same thing; groups of Bio-Roids led by a Mutasect or a Hybrasect coming out of nowhere to lead an attack. From high above the city, on top of a skyscraper, Algrin and Galvahex observed the chaos as it happens. "Now this is the image of perfection.", Algrin gloated.

"In what way?", Galvahex asked, intrigued.

"Pure unadulterated destruction and chaos.", was Algrin's response. "My own world was destroyed entirely by Uuhcura. While I believed for a long time that this was a sign they were wrong to resist, I came to realise its true meaning, thanks to the White Ranger. It meant that inflicting destruction is the one true way to realise how much power you possess. Once I destroy the Flying Rangers, creatures across the universe will realise that I am the new supreme ruler of the Dominion. They will kneel before me, or die for their defiance."

Listening to this speech, Galvahex was able to conclude that Algrin was very much the clinical definition of insane. But without another officer of the Dominion to accept orders from, he was stuck with the madman. So he decided to do what he was programmed to do; obey. "What are my orders, concerning this attack?"

"I want you to settle your own conflicts with the other Flying Rangers. I will do what Tann failed to do and take down that Red Ranger." With that said, Algrin vanished, laughing all the way.

Galvahex decided to take the instructions to heart, scanning his memories for any conflicts and making resolving them his priority. But because of his newfound friendship with Mark Goodman, he decided to make sure the conflict went in a favourable way for both sides. His target: Wayne Burley.

* * *

In the air base, Gordon had called Mark, Wayne, Steven, Carrie, Lulu, Mary, van Lyden, Lefee, Caldwell, Ratcliffe, Gliderak and Aluze into the main control room. "We've received this message from Captain Rolfe.", Gordon said, as she hit a play button.

A video of Captain Rolfe, with Sergeant Brent by his side appeared on a screen. "Rangers, all squads are reporting that the Dominion is attacking them. All have sighted either a monster, both the object ones and the animal ones, accompanied by the grunts. We're managing with them, but the monsters are something we're afraid tackling, for fear of triggering an accidental growth. We need you out there as soon as possible." With that the message ended.

"I told you that this war wasn't over, didn't I?", Mark said.

"What can we say? You were right.", Gliderak replied. "What's the plan of attack for fighting them off?"

"I intended for the technicians to begin delivering the mass produced weapons to their colleagues and for you and Lauze to help out however you choose to help out.", Gordon replied. "I myself will stay here and oversee the operation from the control centre."

Gliderak pressed his fists together. "I suppose I could help out with the fighting, even if I can't really do much more than kill a few Bio-Roids. What about you, Aluze?"

"I'm not much of a fighter myself.", his fellow survivor said in response. "But I can coordinate, which is what I'll do from here with the operations."

"Well that's settled then.", Gordon noted. "Now then, since I'm trying to have the Rangers learn to function without me, I'm going to turn over your decision making to Flying Officer Goodman."

Mark stepped forward. "Thank you, Captain. I've decided that three of us will stay on the ground and help out with the Mutasects and Hybrasects that haven't grown giant. The other 3 will pilot the Icarus and deal with any that have managed to grow giant."

Mary stepped forward, confused by his words. "You said 'three' for both groups."

Mark placed his hand on her shoulder. "No arguments. You're a part of my team now and I want you by my side when we finish this war once and for all."

Wayne stepped forward to interrupt. "I guess I'll also join up with you on the ground team, namely because I've grown tired of piloting the Icarus this week." He then turned to Lulu. "Can I trust you to handle it?"

"I'm not sure.", was Lulu's reply. "But the fact you're trusting me to do it means that I'll try not to let you down."

"Well that's decided then.", Gordon declared. "Okay, people. Move out."

"Ok!" Everyone clenched their fists and set off for their tasks, with the Rangers and Mary only stopping initiate their transformations. "Let's Fly!"

At the end, only Gordon and Aluze were still in the control room. "Good luck, everyone.", Aluze said quietly.

* * *

In the city, one of the military groups was facing off against a poison gas/rat monster, which had dubbed itself 'Corrodent'. One of them foolishly decided to lob a grenade at the monster, thinking they could destroy it without the Rangers. However, the explosion merely gave the Hybrasect bug enough kinetic energy to grow giant. "Thanks for that, human.", Corrodent said in his echoed squeaky voice. "Now I can do some real damage." He then began walking off, leaving the soldiers fleeing for their lives.

Elsewhere, Mark's group came to help out Corporal Jarvis' group. They had finished off the Bio-Roids, leaving only the two Mutasects. "Well, well Sucker. Looks like two of the Rangers decided to grace us with their presence.", the sewing machine Mutasect observed.

"So did that traitor Halatia, Stitch Hitter.", added Sucker. "This should give us the opportunity to show them that Hybrasects aren't so big."

"I think we should try splitting up to take on these guys.", Wayne suggested. "I'll try and lure Herbert over there (he indicated the vacuum) away from here while you deal with the other one."

"I can do that.", Mark nodded. "Besides, I have a bit of a history with these machines." He was referring to his former dream of being a fashion designer. The two thus charged at their opponents, with Wayne making sure to taunt his into following him in the direction of a park.

"I suppose I should focus on getting these men to safety.", Mary decided. She went over to Jarvis and Dawson. "Get your men out of here. Move them to a safe distance." The two nodded and set off. As Mary turned around, she was grabbed by a hand from behind.

* * *

**Action Shift, On! Flier! Zoom! Jet! Sonic! Plane!Icarus Megazord! Take Off! Go, Go!**

The Icarus landed opposite its first opponent, an exact copy of the first Mutasect it had taken down, Sky Scrapper. "Ah, this takes me back.", Lulu notes from the pilot's seat. "Well, we beat this thing once, so it shouldn't be any trouble this time."

"Last time, we were fighting on autopilot and we had Mark and Wayne working the weapons.", Carrie noted. "But we've come a long way since then. This should be easy."

"I know what you did to my predecessor.", Sky Scrapper II growled. "And I know what to avoid." He ran forward with his blades hammer and hit the Icarus with enough force to send it flying backwards.

"'This should be easy', you said.", Steven said sarcastically.

"Evidently, this one has a bigger brain than the last one.", said Carrie. "Let's just hope that was a lucky shot."

Sky Scrapper II then continued pummelling the Icarus with his weapon, before blowing it back with enough force to send it flying. "Say goodbye, humans.", he said as he wrapped his flail, an exact replica of the original's, around heir neck and began manhandling them.

"We're not the same people who defeated your big brother.", Lulu declared, pulling on the levers. This created enough force for the Icarus to pull Sky Scrapper II over their head and onto the ground. "Alright, let's finish this off."

But before they could do anything, Corrodent appeared and sprayed Sky Scrapper with acid, causing his brother to dissolve. "You didn't think that he was gonna be the one to take you out, did you?", asked the Hybrasect. "Especially since I'm here now."

"I think things just got harder.", noted Lulu.

* * *

Back on the ground, Mark was beginning to overpower Stitch Hitter. He then pulled out all his weapons and once more assembled them. "This worked well enough last time. It'll definitely be a shoe in this time."

Error. This weapon is in excess of the designated safety margin. Use of this weapon has been prohibited.

Mark growled. Gordon must have put the safety feature in last night. "I guess it's back to the drawing board then." He leapt towards the Mutasect with his Wing Saber, stabbing it through the location of the bug and then assembling his Sonic Smasher. "This should be a good substitute." He fired at the Mutasect.

_Strike Out!_

The blast hit Stitch Hitter dead on. "I'm leaving stitches!", he declared before exploding, leaving behind a dead bug.

"Alright, that's one down.", Mark declared. Then he turned around to see Mary was being held hostage. "Algrin! I knew you were still kicking. Let her go."

"Oh no, Red Ranger.", Algrin sneered. "She's my insurance. Either meet me at the nearby quarry in one of your hours, or she dies." With that said, he vanished, taking his hostage with him. Mark scowled as he went to his Rover Launcher.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Icarus was still trying to deal with Corrodent. "Let's see how you like this. Talon Sickle!" The Icarus brandished it's polearm, getting in a few hits on the giant rat. "AviMace!" It then used its flail to toss its opponent over it shoulder.

"Oh, you just made a big mistake, missy.", Corrodent declared. "Toxic Acid!" He breathed his gas onto the Icarus, melting the Icarus Saber. "Now let's see how good you are without your weapon." He then proceeded to lay a smack down on the Icarus, causing some significant damage.

"We're sitting ducks if we don't do something.", Carrie pointed out. "I'm calling in some help."

**Vehicle Shift, On! Boxer! Take Off! Go, Go!**

Dash Boxer came running in, laying a beatdown upon the opponent. "Hey, two against one isn't fair.", Corrodent complained as he was knocked down.

"And now, let's have our friend help us finish this.", Carrie said, pressing more buttons.

**Action Shift, On! Boxer! Boxer, Power On!**

Dash Boxer transformed into the Boxer Cannon and floated into the arms of the Icarus. "Dash Boxer, Victory Dynamic!" The blast hit Corrodent dead on, vaporising him."

"Don't celebrate just yet, guys.", Lulu noted. While she was trying to stay serious, she was still annoyed about how Carrie had basically hogged that last kill. "Let's send Boxer back to base and carry on."

* * *

In the park, Wayne was still fighting Sucker, hitting him with 4 slashes and a kick, which knocked him to the floor. "Stay down, if you know what's good for you.", he stated.

"You don't know me very well.", Sucker said as he uprighted himself. "Because I'm a real sucker for punishment." He grabbed his opponent with his tube, throwing Wayne around the park before eventually crashing him into a tree. "And I've got that spark." He fired bullets from his hands at the Black Ranger, who ran forward wielding his Wing Saber. Sucker then ran forward with his own weapon.

After some brief swordplay, Wayne decided "I've had enough.", pulling out his Beak Blaster and shooting the Mutasect back. He then leapt up with his Wing Saber to execute the closest thing he had to a finishing move. "Condor Break!"

The two slashes destroyed the monster. However, his Mutasect survived his destruction, reconstituting its body as a giant. "How do you like me now?", the giant asked, moving one foot forward to crush his opponent.

However, Wayne was able to move out of the way in time. "I don't like you much, if at all.", he responded to his enemy's question. He then leapt up to attack his opponent, only to be blown back by a gust from the vacuum's blow function.

Sucker then leapt down to pick up his tiny opponent, only to be blocked by the Talon Sickle, which sent him flying. "Don't worry about us, Wayne.", Lulu radioed. "We can handle this thing. You carry on on the ground."

Wayne turned around to see a cybernetic cat man walk towards him. "I might just take you up on that.", he whispered, once more charging into battle.

* * *

Up in the sky, Sucker was now facing off against the Icarus. "So you're my next challenge to overcome. I think the winds are in my favour.", he declared. He then blew at them with a large gust of wind, knocking them back several feet.

"How about we try being blunt with this guy?", Steven commented, summoning the Sky Slammer. But then Sucker reversed his flow, pulling them forward.

"Maybe we should go for something with a bit more spike.", Lulu suggested. "AviMace!"

The Icarus threw its newly-summoned weapon at the opponent, sending an electrical charge that destroyed him. "I think that's the last of them.", Carrie reported. "Let's take the Icarus back to base."

"Good idea.", Lulu nodded. "Then we can see what we can do to help the others."

* * *

On the ground, Wayne was fighting the robot/cat Hybrasect, dubbed "Meowser" in a losing battle when Galvahex appeared. "What do you want?", Wayne asked. "Are you here to gloat over my impending doom?"

"Nothing so petty, Wayne.", the robot said in response. He pulled out his Gatling Cannon, using it to destroy Meowser and his bug. "That should be the last of the Carrionoid young in our assault. Your military will only have Bio-Roids to deal with from here on out."

Wayne was confused. "Have you been… helping us? Did I wake up on the wrong side of bed this morning?"

"No, you aren't dreaming. I have my own reasons for taking out my own soldiers. Namely, because my designated mission is to settle my dispute with you. I can't allow low ranking grunts to do that."

"If its a fight you want, then you've got it." Wayne leapt at Galvahex, slashing at him several times, to little effect. He then swung his Wing Saber forward, only for Galvahex to catch the blade.

"You've tried this strategy before.", Galvahex noted. 'And it didn't work then." He kicked his opponent backwards.

Wayne quickly recovered. "If you think that's been done, then let's try my Beak Blaster." He pulled it out and fired at Galvahex, who absorbed the blast again.

"I don't think you're taking this seriously.", Galvahex commented, his voice becoming slightly more annoyed. "You're simply trying the same old tired moves that you and I should know can't hurt me."

"If that's the case, then how about I show you something new?" Wayne deployed his Sky Enforcer in Break Mode and launched a flying punch at Galvahex. "Now let's see what happens when I try using Burst Mode while in this configuration." The resulting impact damaged part of the robot's chest, sending components flying."

Galvahex now lost all remaining attempts to feign stoicism. "So this is your true power. Let's see what you can really do with me." He then threw Wayne back, as their fight continued.

* * *

In the quarry, Algrin was fixing the captive Mary to a rock. "Do you really think this is a good idea?", she asked. "You know that Mark has only been so determined to fight the Dominion so far for my sake. What do you think kidnapping and threatening to kill me will accomplish in your victory?"

"I want the Red Ranger to come here.", Algrin stated. "I'm going to let him think he has a chance before I tear that hope away from him. Once he falls, the others will be like dominoes as I destroy this planet. I can then move on to destroy the next planet, and the next, until no-one is foolish enough to challenge me again. And then I'll destroy more for added effect."

"You really are insane, aren't you?", Mary asked. "What will all that destruction accomplish in the long run?"

"Nothing in terms of conquest.", Algrin answered her. "But it will make a point that I am the new supreme power of the universe. Now then." He went over to Mary and drained energy from her sceptre, reverting her to her human clothes. "Just in case you get any ideas of escaping. And to give myself an advantage of course." He then began laughing.

Mary could only look up at the sky. "Mark's cutting this kinda close.", she said to herself. "You'd better get here soon."

* * *

At the docks, Wayne's showdown with Galvahex continued with the latter throwing the former down to the ground. Wayne then stopped a karate chop with his legs and kicked his opponent back. "You seem a lot tougher than usual.", Wayne noted. "And that's saying something."

Galvahex got up. "Like I said, I have been ordered to resolve my conflicts with the Flying Rangers." As Wayne ran forward to deliver more slashes, the robot kicked him back hard enough to knock his weapon out of his hand. "And you are the only unresolved conflict I have. Logic dictates that I dedicate all computations to this." He fired his Gatling Cannon at Wayne, damaging his helmet and exposing his right eye. "You can't win. I've calculated all possible outcomes and I come out in all of them."

"I've never trusted computers to do much.", Wayne said, assembling his Sonic Smasher. "And I don't trust them to tell my future." He fired the weapon at Galvahex.

_Fire Attack, Set Up! Strike Out!_

The blast his the robot, severing his left arm and knocking his Gatling Cannon to the side. "Your Rover Launcher did the same thing.", he noted. "It didn't faze me, and neither has this." He fired a weapon built into his other arm knocking Wayne down. As his opponent got up, Galvahex picked up his Wing Saber. "Ironic. You're about to die by your own weapon. Goodbye, Wayne." He began advancing, the Wing Saber extended.

* * *

In the quarry, Mark finally pulled up in the Rover Launcher, to be greeted by nothing but an empty quarry. "Algrin!", he yelled out. "What're are you, you coward? Show yourself."

"Someone's grouchy today." Mark turned around to see a wall of darkness, from which Algrin emerged. "Don't worry, your little girlfriend is safe over there." He indicated where Mary was lying unconscious, fixed by a manacle and a chain to the rocks. "Though how long she remains that way depends on the outcome of this fight."

"I know how this fight is going to end.", Mark said calmly. "You're a dead man and I get to go home and enjoy the rest of my life." He pressed the button on his bracelet, saying "Let's Fly." A wireframe formed around him, which generated his suit. "Let's dance."

The two ran towards each other, swords in hand. Hey met in the middle and began a fight, which was evenly matched between the two. They then stood in place and locked swords. "I won't let you hurt people ever again.", Mark practically yelled.

"Wishful thinking.", Algrin replied, pushing his opponent back. The two then started firing lasers at each other, Mark from his Beak Blaster and Algrin from his hand. After neither managed to hit their target, the two resumed their sword fighting, both going more all out with their moves, including jumping from the rocks. Eventually, Mark managed to grab Algrin as they landed. "What are you doing, human?"

"I'm taking no chances.", Mark replied. "Rover Launcher, Auto Lock!"

The go-kart converted into its gun mode and aimed at the two. "You can't finish me with that.", Algrin laughed. "It's not even charged."

"That was the old cannon.", Mark responded. "We've made some improvements. Launcher, fire at my location!"

**Maximum Firebird Bombardment!**

The two were hit by the released shot, which consumed them within the flames.


	32. Their Final Flight Part 2

At the air base, Steven and the girls returned to the main control room. "What are you doing back here?", Group captain Gordon asked. "Shouldn't you be dealing with monsters that grow giant?"

"That's the funny thing.", Carrie replied. "It turned out that Galvahex had already dealt with a lot of the monsters before we could get to them, for some reason. And then he engaged Wayne in what he claimed was a resolution to their conflict. Just who's side is he on now?"

"What about Mark?", Steven decided to bring up. "We haven't heard from him in a while. Where's he?"

"Flying Officer Goodman was lured out to the quarry to fight against Algrin. The last visual we have of the fight is him ordering the Rover Launcher to fire on his position. The visual feed blew out soon after that."

"We have to help him.", Lulu insisted. "Even if he is fine, none of us have managed to beat that creep in a straight fight by ourselves. We've only driven him off."

"Even then, we still suffered some temporary losses.", Carrie said, sadly. She was thinking of the beatdown that Algrin had inflicted on Wayne. "We need to get there as fast as possible."

"But how?", Steven asked. "The vehicles are in maintenance and once it's started, we can't halt the process."

"We do have a jet fighter here.", Gordon revealed, to be met with stunned faces. "This IS an air base, after all."

"It's better than nothing.", Lulu said as they set off running to use the vehicle.

* * *

In the quarry, the Rover Launcher's beam was still headed for Mark and Algrin. However, Algrin breathed a green laser from his mouth which overpowered the Rover Launcher's beam, sending it back to its target. The resulting energy overloaded the Rover Launcher, causing it to explode. "No!", Mark called out.

"You're open.", Algrin declared. He broke free of his opponent's grasp and threw him back, before blasting him with another laser from his hand. "You were a fool to come here. My new power is something you can't beat."

"Come to think of it, you have seemed a lot stronger in this battle.", Mark wheezed out. "I've never felt anything like this before."

"Indeed. There won't be anymore holding back." Algrin laughed as he transformed into his Berserker Mode, now glowing with a red light. "I have the powers of the entire Dominion at my disposal. What chance do you have?"

Mark pulled himself up. "Probably none. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up now. I've lost too much to do that right now." He looked over to the unconscious body of Mary. "And I intend to take back what I still can." He drew his Wing Saber and ran forward.

Algrin summoned Tann's rapier. "Even in the face of defeat, you refuse to roll over and die. How annoying." He then ran forward to continue the fight.

* * *

Back with Wayne in the industrial district, Galvahex was still approaching him, wielding his opponent's Wing Saber in his remaining arm. All seemed hopeless, until Wayne saw the robot's own discarded components, allowing him to formulate a plan.

"So this is how it ends.", Galvahex stated, wheezing. "You've been a worthy opponent. Farewell, Black Ranger."

"Exactly my sentiments.", Wayne said in response. "Especially since I'm about to win this."

Galvahex could register the seriousness in his opponent's exposed right eye. "Are you insane?", he asked the Ranger. "I'm immune to every weapon in your arsenal. You have nothing that can even scratch me." He brought the stolen Wing Saber down on his opponent.

"My arsenal, maybe.", Wayne said as he slid out of the way of the blow, in the direction of Galvahex's dropped Gatling Cannon. He then picked it up and aimed it. "But what about something from YOUR arsenal?"

"Ah.", was all Galvahex had to say, failing to have calculated this outcome. He still could barely register it as Wayne shot him with the weapon, damaging his armour and causing him to throw his stolen weapon up into the air. Wayne then caught the sword and stabbed the robot in his exposed area before any further computations could be made. There was only one suitable reaction to the situation. "Ha ha ha."

Wayne was confused. "Did I miss a joke or something?"

"It's just so funny. I built that weapon so that I could defeat you in battle.", Galvahex informed him. "I didn't imagine that it would be used for the opposite purpose. Mary was right. I AM developing human emotions."

Wayne initially joined in the laughter, until he fully took in what the robot had said. "Wait, you know Mary? We're you aware she was posing as Halatia?"

"Of course I was.", came the reply. "I was helping her keep her relapse into her old self a secret from Algrin, Fwelf and later Tann. As soon as it became impossible to keep the secret, I located her amongst the wreckage from Orpheus and returned her to you under the pretence of a showdown."

Wayne had a realisation. "So you've been helping us for some time. If that's the case, then why didn't you come over to our side? Help us fight against Algrin and his plans for the Earth?"

"I couldn't. Not with the limitations of my programming. But thanks to you destroying my central processor, I am no longer bound to do anything for him. Maybe whatever my processor is used for in the future will not be bound by such limitations. Oh, and tell Mary that 'Oscar said "Goodbye".' With that said, the light in his eyes faded, and the Galvahex model robot known as Oscar knew no more.

Wayne stood up, a single tear in his eyelid. "'The rest is silence.'", he said before receiving a message on his communicator. "Who is it?"

"It's me.", Mark's voice wheezed from the other end. "Algrin's beating me faster than I can fight back. I need help. Follow my signal."

"I'm on it.", Wayne replied before hanging up. He immediately altered the frequency on his communicator to call his Jet Cycle to him.

* * *

In the quarry, Mark eventually fell to his opponent from exhaustion. "What's the matter, human? Stand up and keep fighting.", Algrin growled.

"I can't.", Mark wheezed in response. "You're too powerful for me to take on alone. If I fight you single-handedly, I'm going to fall from exhaustion."

Algrin laughed. "So you're finally giving up then? Good." He summoned his own weapon. "You and your girlfriend will have all the time you need for yourself in the next world."

"Not so fast, you creep." Algrin looked up to see Lulu, Steven and Carrie jumping down, with all three firing lasers from their Sky Enforcers. The force of the blasts knocked the madman's sword out of his hand and sent him staggering. "We're not about to let you just kill our firmed, unless you can beat all of us first.", Carrie declared.

"When the 5 of us work together, we can override our own limits.", Lulu stated.

"This is the last battle for Earth and you can be sure we're going to win it, no matter what it takes.", Steven added.

Mark got himself up and went over to the others. "Give it up, Algrin. Even with your added power, we have you outnumbered.", he declared, having taken the time to get his breath back.

Algrin climbed to his feet, materialising a small amulet, resembling the Rangers' change bracelets. "You may have the advantage in numbers, but this should even the odds." He pressed a button on the small device.

"Wait!", Steven realised. "What're you…?"

The amulet began playing an orchestral piece of music, as it became enveloped in black fog and floated out of its owner's hands. When the smoke cleared, the music halted and there was a familiar, mostly black version of the Red Ranger standing "**_Red Dark!"_**, the figure declared.

"But how?", Lulu asked. "I thought we destroyed him."

"No.", Mark corrected her. "We only destroyed his teammates. Before we could do anything with this guy, he vanished as the night came back. I thought he couldn't come back without Lumidillo."

"**_I was trapped in a sub-dimension, unable to directly interact with any living creature."_**, Red Dark explained in his distinctive voice, a raspier version of Mark's. "**_Eventually, I found a way to facilitate communication with the real world through Algrin here. I promised to help him in his conquest of destruction, in exchange for one request."_**

"Namely, revenge for the loss of his team, by destroying the Red Ranger of the real world.", Algrin finished for him. "A task I'm going to allow you to finish now." Red Dark ran forward and grappled with his original, taking both of them to a different part of the quarry. "Now then, that merely leaves you three for me to kill."

The three Rangers all engaged Algrin in combat, with him summoning different weapons to deal with them. When Lulu came towards him with acrobatics, which lead into an attempted sword strike, he used Halatia's sceptre to defend himself and blast her back. Then Steven tried using his rock throwing, followed by running up the mad Viscount with his Sky Enforcer. Algrin used Fwelf's gauntlet to teleport out of the way and then set off a small explosion to knock the Yellow Ranger back. Then Carrie tried shooting at him with both her Beak Blaster and her AviAttacker. He merely absorbed these hits and zapped the White Ranger to the ground. "It's no good.", Carrie stated. "He has the powers and weapons of all our major enemies."

"Not all of them.", Algrin looked up to see Wayne approaching, holding Galvahex's Gatling Cannon in his arms. He fired the weapon at Algrin knocking him back. "Courtesy of our robotic semi-ally, I managed to get this."

Algrin laughed heavily. "I knew that machine couldn't be trusted. But you could, Black Ranger." He used Fwelf's gauntlet to teleport close to Wayne and grab the weapon. "After all, you've completed my power set." He then grabbed at Wayne's broken helmet, pulling it apart with incredible force that sent the wearer flying. "Before, I was powerful enough to create an endless army of Bio-Roids. Now, I am invincible!"

* * *

Out in the city, Gliderak was leading the various military personnel against the army of Bio-Roids. But as Algrin had said to the Rangers, the army could continuously replicate whenever one of them was killed. In effect, this created an army that never ended. "They just keep coming.", Private Dawson exclaimed. "What do we do?"

"We keep fighting them.", Gliderak called back. "Even if they eventually overwhelm us, we keep fighting them until our last breath. But we'd rather do that then allow this planet to fall to these invaders."

"He gets it." Everyone turned around to see Captain Rolfe, accompanied by Sergeant Brent, both carrying pistols in their hands. "If this planet's going to have its fate decided by this battle, then what kind of leader would I be if I wasn't there on the front lines."

"So let's show these faceless goons what real military might is.", Sergeant Brent shouted out. Everyone raised their hands in the air and continued their charge.

* * *

In the quarry, Mary came to to see Mark fighting with his Darkness copy from the incident that restored her freedom from the Dominion's control. "What'd I miss?", she asked.

"Algrin's absorbed the powers of all the Dominion's leaders.", Mark called out as Red Dark swung his Schwartz Saber at him, only narrowly missing. "And he pulled his guy out whatever hole we threw him into purely to kill me." He dodged a shot from the Darkness Ranger's Black Blasters

"**_You're out of your league, Red Ranger.", _**Red Dark tutted**_. "I have access to every weapon you have at your disposal, plus memories of every word you've ever heard."  
_**

This gave Mark an idea, as he remembered what Lulu had said earlier. '"When the 5 of us work together, we can override our own limits."' "You may have all the weapons I had when you were created. But I've got a little upgrade since then." He pulled out his AviAttacker and aimed it at his doppelgänger.

_Thunder Attack!_

The electric blast hit Red Dark, sending him backwards. Mark then took the opportunity to go over to Mary and cut open her chains, releasing her. "Now, get out of here. It's not safe for you without any powers."

"No, I'm staying here.", Mary shook her head. "I have just as much place being here as you, powers or no powers."

Wayne heard from across the quarry, as Algrin continued mockingly confronting him and the others. "Not even your fancy suits can help you stand up to my newfound power."

Wayne stood up. "Our power comes from more than just these suits.", he declared angrily. "We've defeated the likes of Uuhcura, Kurorg and Tann through our own intelligence and skill, not through some stupid suits. I COULD create another copy of the helmet you just ripped up, but I won't. I'm going to face you and you're going to see the face of your opponent is Wayne Burley, not the Black Ranger."

Lulu stepped forward to his side. "He's right. I didn't get picked to wear this suit. Well, I did, but that was before I showed that I was perfectly capable of doing the job, suit or no suit." She took off her helmet and threw it away. "That's why I'm not going to be wearing my helmet either. Your opponent for this evening will by Lulu Goodman, not the Blue Ranger."

Carrie was the next to step forward. "I'm a doctor. And if there's one thing I've learned in my medical career, it's that you can always have a better effect on the patient if they can see your face." She removed her own helmet and threw it away. "Your doctor for tonight will be me, Caroline Brown."

Steven was the last of the group to step forward. "I don't really have a speech to give, so I'll just say that I get the point of what they're saying. I'm going to take you on, not as the Yellow Ranger, not as Steven Hartford," he took off his helmet and tossed it over near the others "but as my real self, Marvin Hinton!"

* * *

In the control room of the air base, Aluze reported something that seemed dire. "We've lost the feed from the Rangers, Jangar. What does that mean?"

Gordon shook her head. "That should only happen if they're dead or their helmet cams have been disconnected from their heads. We can only hope it's the latter."

* * *

As the four Rangers prepared to face the mad Viscount one last time, Mark blocked another hit from his dark counterpart. "I'm not sure what the others are up to, but it's given me an idea." He knocked Red Dark back and removed his helmet. "Allow me to talk to you. Not as the Red Flying Ranger, but as Mark Goodman, USAF Flying Officer."

**"Do what you want.", **Red Dark laughed**. "It will make it a lot more satisfying when I finally kill you."**

"And what do you think will happen to you after that?", Mark asked. "Look at Mary here. She used to be one of Algrin's colleagues and now she's basically just waiting to be killed by him."

Mary was a little annoyed by this description, but she still caught on to what he was trying to do. "Do you really think Algrin will let you carry on serving him, if I'm an example of how he treats his subordinates?"

Red Dark thought about it. "**_You two make a good point. I'm not going to be truly free unless I remove my real enemy. Algrin!"_** He turned around and made for the red-glowing Dominion Commander.

"Thanks for that.", Mark said to Mary. "That's bought me some time."

"Time for what?", Mary asked, confused.

Mark didn't answer, instead pulling up his communicator. "Connect to central computer. Command function override, code 10"

_**Override accepted.**_

Across the quarry, Algrin was still fighting the others to a standstill. "I'll admit, that you humans are strong." He then swung Tann's rapier, creating a ripple that knocked the 4 down again. "But I'm stronger! Nothing any of you can do can stop me."

"**_But what about me?_**", Algrin turned around to be greeted by Red Dark slashing him down. "**_You were never going to allow me to join you in your conquests. You just wanted me to get rid of the Red Ranger so you could defeat the others easily, am I right?"_**

"You are correct, shadow creature.", Algrin snarled as he knocked the Darkness Ranger back, allowing him to summon Galvahex's Gatling Cannon. "But since you're not going to do that anymore, I guess I'll have to dispose of you."

Before he could fire, Red Dark kicked the weapon out of his hand and grabbed on to Algrin. "**_You've only lasted so long in this battle because of those powers you stole from your subordinates. I'm going to take them into myself!"_** The glowing red aura surrounding Algrin transferred to the Darkness Ranger, who pointed his Dark Blaster at himself and summoned Fwelf's gauntlet. _**"**_**_My friends and allies, I'm coming to join you." _**He clicked his fingers and fired the Blaster.

There was an explosion, which knocked Algrin backwards and caused Red Dark to dissolve into dust, the words "**_Stop Algrin"_** blowing in the wind. All that remained of him was his weapons.

* * *

In the city, the Bio-Roids were about to overwhelm the humans, when they all vanished. "What happened?", Corporal Jarvis asked. "Where'd they go?"

"I think", Gliderak said in response "the Rangers happened. They must've cut off the source of those Bio-Roids. Our battle is over now. As for theirs, I'm not sure."

* * *

In the Quarry, the battle with Algrin had become a lot more easy for the Rangers. Wayne and Steven were able to replicate a variation of the same attack they had used against Shutterbug, only this time, Wayne used his Sky Enforcer's Burst mode to fire at Algrin, knocking him back. Steven then ran forward and delivered a punch with his own Enforcer, which sent the Mad Viscount flying."

Carrie and Lulu prepared to attack, the former with with her two firearms and the latter with her Wing Saber. After Carrie fired a few shots, Lulu threw her own Beak Blaster to her. "Here, catch.", she yelled as she threw it.

"Thanks.", Carrie said as she grabbed it. She then plugged it into her AviAttacker to form a Sonic Smasher, before inserting her Wing Saber into her own Beak Blaster to make a Hyper Cannon. "Let's see how he handles a double dose of firepower."

The combined force of the two weapons sent Carrie flying backwards, but it did leave a mark on Algrin's body. "I still… rule… over all.", he wheezed out.

"Yeah? Rule this.", Lulu declared, as she ran forward and deliver a flurry of slashes to the warlord. "This is for Avior. And this is for all the destruction you've unleashed on Winter Valley. And this is for all the emotional hurt you and your minions have put us through." The last slash pushed Algrin back against the rock face.

But even this did not faze the madman. "Your weapons are still too weak. They cannot defeat me!", he declared.

"On their own maybe." Algrin looked up to see Mark holding the same combination of weapons he had used against Uuhcura. "But I bet you can't stand up to all of us using all our weapons all together."

"What's he planning?", Carrie asked. "Didn't he get hurt last time?"

"I don't think it matters.", Wayne replied. "Let's just do what he says."

"Okay.", the other two nodded.

Within seconds, the five had assembled their weapons in the same configuration: Beak Blasters plugged into AviAttackers, with a Wing Saber installed in the scope to form a second barrel and held in their right hand, where their Sky Enforcers were active in Burst Mode. "Target Lock!", they all declared, aiming their weapons in Algrin's way. "Fire!"

The combined force of the five blasts surrounded Algrin with fire and sent the Rangers flying backwards. As they got up, their suits crackled and dissolved out. "What happened?", Lulu asked. "That's never happened before."

"My guess is that the suits couldn't handle the amount of power we were putting out.", Wayne replied. "So they shut down in response to the output. But really, I have no idea."

"Does it matter?", Mark questioned. "We beat Algrin. We stopped the Dominion from invading our planet. It's over."

But then Algrin emerged from the flames, now back in his regular form. "Not over…" he wheezed. "Never over…."

Mark sighed. "Don't you know when to give up? We've already beat you. Admit it."

"You merely destroyed my Berserker form.", Algrin said in response. "But I'll create another. As soon as I've ripped the power out of your…."

But he was jerked forward before he could finish. Everyone looked up to see that Mary had stabbed him in the back with his own sword. "Now guys.", she said as she moved out of the way. "Finish him off now."

"With what?", Steven asked. "There aren't any weapons we can use."

"Oh yes there is.", Mark said as he dashed for the Schwartz Saber and Black Blaster that Red Dark had left behind. He combined them into a Hyper Cannon equivalent and fired at Algrin.

Algrin took the blast and began sparking. "No, this can't be. I can't lose to the likes of you. I shouldn't…" Then he collapsed to the ground and exploded.

"Now, it's over.", Carrie stated. "He can't possibly survive that. Now what do we do?"

"We go back to base.", Mark told her. "We tell Gordon that the crisis has passed and then we work on what happens next."

And so the 6 of them walked away, as Algrin's helmet fell to the floor, exploding as it hit the ground.

* * *

Back at base, the 5 were stood in a line as Gordon addressed them, just as they had done back when the team had first united. Only this time, Mary, Caldwell, the Avions and Captain Rolfe were all present. "That was utterly reckless!", Gordon yelled angrily. "There's a reason I had that safety lock installed after your battle with Uuhcura. And yet you go and override it, damaging your Morphers' very expensive, virtually irreplaceable power cores." Then she mellowed at. "However, I will acknowledge that it did ultimately win you your battle against Algrin. Bravo, Rangers. The Dominion is no longer a threat. Word has already been sent out and the reconstruction of Winter Valley will commence within a few days. Now then, I'd like to know what you intend to do with your lives, so that I can make arrangements."

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Mark stepped forward, his "Morpher", as she had called it, in his hand. "Well, since there's no longer a threat to face, the I no longer need to be a Ranger, or an active serviceman.", he said, as he put the bracelet in her hand. "Therefore, I'd like to announce my official resignation from the US Military."

Everyone was shocked to hear this, except for Mary and Gordon. Instead, the latter smiled. "I'm proud of you, Mark. When I first met you, you were willing to do what I asked, no questions asked. But since then, you've grown capable of making your own decisions, such as not staying in a job I basically enforced upon you at a young age."

"A dangerous one at that.", Mary added. Then she went over to her boyfriend and kissed him. "I'm just glad you're going to be safe."

Wayne was the next to step forward. "I used to think being a soldier was everything to live for. Now, I see it's nothing to consider glamorous or cool. It's just suffering for everyone involved on both sides." He handed over his own Morpher. "I think I'll stick to science from now on. You know, try and make a better world for the next generation to grow up in."

Gordon smiled at this as well. "I thought something like this would happen since the day I recruited you. I was hoping that working in a science position might calm down your hotheadedness that caused your injury. I never imagined that actually getting back in the field would produce results."

Steven stepped forward and handed in his Morpher. "I don't really want to continue in this place, since I'll probably be going back to my own period, as soon as Wayne can finish working on the warp coil, or whatever it was that brought me 22 years into the future."

"No, I didn't think you would.", Gordon said to him. "I can only wish you luck in returning to your own place Steven. No, Marvin."

Lulu was the next to step forward, but she was a lot more reluctant than any of the male members. "I'm in a weird place.", she confessed. "I want to go back to being a regular person, but I want to ask if I can keep the 'morpher', or whatever you called it."

"If you do, it'll be a as a keepsake.", Gordon told her. "With the damage the power cores sustained, another use will cause the device to disintegrate from the strain." Lulu decided silently to hand the bracelet over. "Now then, I do have something for you." She pulled out a cheque. "This should cover all the times that your Swallow was damaged or threatened. Let it not be said I don't give my word."

That just left Carrie as the only one. "This broken power core, can it be repaired?", she asked.

"Yes, it can.", Mary said to answer her question? "Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking of going into space with Jangar and the Avions.", Carrie replied, to everyone's shock. "Earth May be safe, but what about all those other planets under threat of conquest by the Dominion? And the ones already conquered? Someone has to help them out."

"Are you sure about this?", Aluze asked her. "There's no guarantee that we'll be able to succeed, or that you'll be coming back to Earth at all."

"I'm a medic, we're willing to do anything for a patient's wellbeing.", Carrie said in response. She then turned to Wayne. "We may not have been together very long, but I'm not going to forget you when I'm out in space."

"And I'm never going to forget the time we spent together.", Wayne assured her, as they went in for a hug. "Just promise me that when you've finished up or felt you've done enough…"

"I'll come back for you.", Carrie finished for him, as the two went in for a kiss, much to everyones' surprise.

Captain Rolfe waited for the moment to pass, before he made his announcement. "Rangers, for your service to this planet and your role in defeating the aliens trying to conquer us, the President has decided to give each of you a blue ribbon."

"This'll be awkward, since I'm supporting the other guy.", Mark commented, as a vertebrae in his spine started to act up. "Better make it a Purple Heart.", he joked.

* * *

Days passed, with the majority of its members now civilians and the head having officially disappeared (to cover for Jangar's return to Space with her crew), Project: Jetman was officially abandoned. After the damaged equipment (other than the Morphers) was restored to functional condition, it was placed in storage in the long-abandoned Nest. Galvahex's body was examined for anything that could be useful, being stored alongside the remains of Orpheus when it was determined there wasn't. Reconstruction began on Winter Valley, with estimates putting the earliest the population could begin to return at 3 weeks. The now-temporarily unemployed heroes who had defended the Earth (aside from the absent Carrie, who had left her own world behind, perhaps forever) now sat in a military bar. While Mary bonded with Lulu over an incident with a typo on her application (concerning her Science Major), Mark sat at a table and discussed the future with Wayne and Marvin. "What do you think you'll do now?"

"For now, I'm just waiting for the opportunity to go home to open.", Marvin answered. "When that happens, I'm probably going to stay low for a while, to avoid causing any nasty paradoxes concerning our adventures."

"Well I've got to actually build the time portal from the warp drive.", Wayne replied. "After that, I think I might turn my attention towards advanced artificial intelligence." He fingered the chip in his pocket, extracted from the head of his robotic rival following their final battle. "After all, you never know what the future might hold for that kind of research. And what about you, Goodman? You've spent most of your adult life in military service. What happens to you now that you're out?"

"Well, I still have what I learned in Fashion Design 101.", was Mark's answer. "I'm going to basically settle down as a moderately successful design business, living my dream and providing a service that won't ever be unnecessary."

"That's good for you.", Wayne said, raising his glass for a toast, which was reciprocated by the other two. "After all, dreams are important for the future of Earth, just as much as scientific research and the past. As long as we think about them and hold hem all dear, the world will always get better."

* * *

So this is the end of the regular story. There'll be a last chapter that functions as an epilogue, then the work will be complete. Any continuation will be up to you, the reader.


	33. Epilogue: The Last Word

Over a year had passed since the battle for Earth had taken place in Winter Valley. Since then, the town had undergone a drastic reconstruction. With many of the buildings having been made in a different architectural style to the town as it was prior to the Invasion, many had nicknamed the town "New Winter Valley", to distinguish it from the original layout of the town. It helped that only a few buildings remained from the old town, such as the Museum and many industrial buildings. And as for the heroes who had fought bravely to liberate the planet, the people had mostly consigned them to urban legends and vague sightings. And the people behind the costumes and the fighting had returned to normal lives. Normal lives that were soon to be upended once more.

* * *

It all began with what seemed to be a regular school trip for the High School. After the disruption caused by the invasion, the entire school had been made to retake the entire year they were on before the invasion. As such, the lower year of the High School still had Lulu Goodman and her friends Lila and Sasha among its members, despite all of them being 16. The class had come to the Quarry for a mineralogy project, with the teacher giving out the assignment. "Remember kids, I want you to catalogue at least 5 different samples of unique sedimentary rocks from this quarry.", he said. "And don't just pick up five random stones. I want you to look all over this site and pick up 5 rocks of different shapes, sizes and compositions. You have half an hour."

And so the students all set off looking for 5 unique sedimentary rock styles. Lulu went over to the edge of the quarry, where she thought she had seen something gleaming. When she investigated, she found one of the remains of the metal helmet worn by the Dominion's field commander and last man standing Algrin. "Just when I thought I was over the nightmares.", she commented to no-one in particular. "Well, I guess this broken piece of metal is appropriate for this sicko.", she said as she kicked the shard again. Then she saw a figure entering a nearby cave. "We aren't supposed to go into the cave.", Lulu called out to them. But there was response as the figure continued their advance. "I'm so gonna get in trouble because of you.", she said angrily under her breath as she followed him.

Inside the cave, Lulu found herself being hit from behind. "Wow, brother. This one's become a pushover since I last faced her. That attack was visible for a mile.", a voice giggled.

"Indeed.", a second voice said in response. "It seems that the retirement of the Rangers has made them much less effective opponents."

Lulu regained her bearing enough to make out the identities of her two attackers. They were Kuroden and Aobrix, the two annihilators that Queen Uuhcura had called to deal with her and her friends during their battle. "That's impossible.", she said, shaking her head. "We got rid of both of you." She pointed at Kuroden. "You turned into that growling tentacle thing."

"Ah yes, the Mutabrid that Queen Uuhcura forced our remains into after my unsuccessful attempt at rebellion.", Kuroden mused. "I must thank you for triggering that modified Carrionoid's growth cycle. In the activation of its regeneration ability, it was conflicted over whether to restore that abomination or to resurrect the two of us. In the end, it compromised and split us off from the main body. We lived, but severely drained of our energies."

"So we've been on the sidelines, waiting to regain our power in secret.", Aobrix continued. "We've got to thank you guys for getting rid of Uuhcura, Tann and Algrin. It makes it a lot easier for us to seize power for ourselves. Which is what we intend to do."

Lulu fully uprighted herself. "If you want to conquer Earth, then you'll have to go for me." She instinctively reached for her Morpher, only to Romberg that it was no longer there. Unfortunately for her, neither was her communicator. Both had been turned in when Project: Jetman was shut down. "Guess I'll have to handle this myself.", she said, as she charged in.

Unfortunately, it would be charitable to call the ensuing scuffle a "fight". Lulu found herself on the receiving end of a beatdown from two superior opponents, one of whom was armed with a sword. Within a few minutes, a boy from the field trip wandered by the cave and found Lulu, battered and bruised. "Somebody call an ambulance!", he called back to the rest of the party. "We have an injured girl here."

* * *

A few hours later, Mark Goodman ran into the physio ward of the hospital. He had received a phone call from the school that Lulu had been found injured on the field trip and rushed to the hospital. When he had arrived there, he had been told to wait, as she was still in the middle of examination. After an hour, he had been told to head for the physio ward, as her condition had now stabilised. He eventually found her room, and met the doctor, a middle aged black man named Dr. Holman. "Is she going to be alright?", Mark asked the Doctor.

"Her condition has stabilised and she's not suffered any permanent nerve damage.", was Holman's answer. "But as of right now, she'll have to stay in the hospital until we can clear her to leave."

Mark then asked the other burning question. "Do you know who did this to her?"

Dr. Holman shook his head. "As far as we know, there's no way to identify who did this to her. I've never seen injuries like hers on anyone I've looked after in my 11 years of service."

It was then that Lulu briefly stirred, managing to get two words out. "Coo… Ow…" Then she returned to her unconscious state.

Dr. Holman was confused. "Did she just make a bird noise and an exclamation of pain?"

"No.", Mark said. He had committed the names of every enemy he and the others had faced during their tenure to memory. "She was trying to say the names of the people who attacked her. They're a pair of…" he paused to think of a good cover story "thugs we got into a scrap with a while back."

"Shouldn't we tell the Police?", Holman asked. "If these people are after you, then you probably should look for protection."  
Mark put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "Don't worry about me, Doc. I can handle myself in a crisis. Plus, with a little help from my contacts, I don't think these guys will be bothering us again."

* * *

Out in the wilderness, Kuroden and Aobrix were observing another city, known as Angel Grove. "Fascinating.", Kuroden stated. "Not only is there another team of Power Rangers on this planet, but this one PREFERS to make themselves publicly known to the primitives, along with many of their details."

"How did puny humans manage to get so advanced in a short amount of time?", Aobrix asked. "Shouldn't it take a lot longer?"

"As usual brother, intelligent thought is not your strong point.", Kuroden replied. "The previous team got their technology from a Keiam, as we observed during our preparations. And the technology of this new team seems… Eltarian."

Aobrix perked up. "Eltarian? Hey, you don't think…?"

"That would be impossible.", Kuroden stated, preempting his brother's thought. "He died millennia before either of us were spawned, taking down a minor witch and her army of nobodies. His Alpha unit confirmed it in a transmission."

Before further discussion could take place, a teleport beam appeared before them, one that was not technological in origin. Kuroden could sense that the aura was wrong. Once it cleared, they saw a humanoid ape with blue skin, long hair and golden armour, followed by a group of rock creatures that had movements that humans would compare to Neanderthal man. "Greetings, to our newest recruits in evil.", the ape man said, in a raspy voice that sounded like he had a cold.

"Well, well. A Grifforzian on this side of the Universe. That's unusual.", Kuroden noted. "Especially one with intelligence. I bought they'd regressed into misogynistic mutes 270 years ago."

Aobrix circled the Grifforzian. "And this guy doesn't even have the wings that those dumb apes should have. Maybe he's a throwback to when they were actually a threat."

The Grifforzian growled at this. "I only came here to try and convince you to join my Empress in her ambitions of conquering this planet and destroying the Power Rangers. I didn't come here to be insulted."

Kuroden looked the Grifforzian in the eyes, allowing him to read the latter's mind. He learned that the being's name was Goldar, but more importantly, he learned exactly who his 'Empress' was and who she served. "We wouldn't work for your stupid leader in this or any life.", Kuroden declared. "We once served Queen Uuhcura in her mission to rid the universe of her and her ilk, including you."

"I see you've made your choice.", Goldar said. "Putties, attack!"

The rock men known as the Putty Patrollers surrounded the two Annihilators. "Uh, big bro. We don't really have enough juice to bring out any Bio-Roids."

"No, but we can do something much better." Kuroden unleashed some of his life energy, which permeated the rock creatures, causing their eyes to glow. "Now then. Putties, attack your enemy."

The Putties turned around and attacked Goldar, knocking him back. "What is the meaning of this insubordination?", the ape man growled. "You should serve only me."

"Not anymore.", Kuroden informed him. "I've wrapped part of my biological energies around the cores of these primitive rock constructs. They now only obey my wishes. If you know what's good for you, then you'll back off and leave us alone." Goldar snarled and teleported out. "Good, now we can make our way to Angel Grove city."

"And take the powers from that new team of Rangers?", Aobrix asked.

"Why not? It will only make us strong enough to crush all of our resistance. Even our original enemies won't be able to stop us."

* * *

Elsewhere, Mark visited the makeshift lab that his former teammates Dr. Wayne Burley and Marvin Hinton (who he had known as Steven Hartford due to a deliberate clerical error) had holed themselves up in. "So this is where you guys have been hiding yourselves for the last few months.", Mark said as he walked in. "Sorry for walking in unannounced."

"It's okay.", Marvin assured him. "If anything, I've been grateful to talk to someone outside of the grocery clerk. Especially since I've not been able to hold a job down." He looked accusingly at Wayne as he said this last part.

"What's the point in securing a permanent job if you're only going to have to quit it soon enough?", Wayne asked. "Besides, I've been a little too busy working on the time hole to go out and find work."

Mark tutted at this. "And I bet you've also been too busy to go out and get yourself a haircut. I know mullets are slowly coming into style, but I don't think you were going for one."

This caused Wayne to look up from his work. "Says the guy who decided a beard was an essential part of being a designer." The two men then laughed and hugged each other. "It's good to see you, pal. What brings you around here?"

"Lulu got put in the hospital.", Mark said, his expression now totally serious. "I don't know how it's possible, but I think Kuroden and Aobrix were behind it." Then he saw that Wayne was confused. "We fought them while you were respectively out cold and off in the city before Kodokor attacked."

"I know who they are. Marvin here filled me in.", Wayne clarified. "Plus when we last saw them, the former was mutated into a tentacled freak that we already dealt with and the latter got destroyed by he surprise appearance of Dash Boxer. Like you said, there's no way they could've returned."

"But if they have returned somehow, we need to check it out.", Marvin suggested.

"Which is why I came here for you two.", Mark continued. "I'm going to need you two to help me revive the Flying Rangers for one last job."

"Does Mary know about this?", Wayne asked. "That you're planning to risk your life again?"

"No she doesn't." Everyone turned around to see the eponymous girlfriend walking into the apartment. "I knew you'd come here after Lulu got hospitalised. You want to go after the guys who did this to her."

"How does she know what you were planning so thoroughly?", Marvin asked.

Mark rubbed the back of his head. "We've kinda moved in with each other recently.", he said nervously.

"I'm not going to judge.", Wayne said sheepishly. "Especially considering that I'm living with an even stranger lodger."

"Look Mark, I know you're feeling guilty that Lulu got put in the hospital.", Mary said. "But you can't just decide to reassemble the Ranger team just to get revenge on these guys."

"But "these guys" are Kuroden and Aobrix.", Mark stressed. "You remember what they did to you, right?"

Mary was shocked to hear this. "Wait, Kuroden and Aobrix are back? How?"

"We don't know that.", Wayne answered. "But somehow they are and they're up to something."

Mary thought about this information for a minute, then came to a decision. "If you're going to stop these guys, then I'm coming with you. Like you said, they did bad things to me as well. And I have a score to settle."

"I'm not arguing.", Marvin said. "We're going to need all the help we can get in taking these two down."

"Indeed you are.", Wayne said. "I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but I'm going to have to stay behind. I mean, someone's going to have to launch the two Megazords, or the Dash Boxer in case one or both of these guys grows giant." He then turned to Mary. "Don't you think of trying to take the Black Morpher for yourself."

"I wasn't planning to.", Mary stated. "I'm fact, I already know what power set I want to use. And I think Lulu wouldn't mind if I got a little revenge for both of us."

"Well then, what're we waiting around for?", Mark asked. "If everything's settled, then let's go."

* * *

"In breaking news, another pair of monsters has appeared in the city of Angel Grove. But unlike the usual fare, these two seemed focused on nothing more than destruction. Indeed, citizens are baffled as to what the plan for this week could be. Although the Power Rangers have appeared on the scene, our reporter on location has nothing good to say about the scene."

"Well as you can see Bob, things are not going well for Angel Grove's guardian angels. They seem to be having a lot more trouble with simple Putties than they normally do. Now one of these two monsters is saying something, I don't recognise the language. It seems that whatever he's doing is sucking the power out of 4 of the Rangers, with only the red one getting out of his range. Now the others have collapsed and are teleporting out. Whatever these two were after, they seem to have achieved it as they are now pulling out."

* * *

In the quarry near Angel Grove, Kuroden and Aobrix laughed over their victory. "These new Rangers really don't live up the hype the stupid humans give them.", Aobrix giggled.

"Indeed.", Kuroden said in response. "Our Bio-enhanced Putties couldn't even be scratched by them. And thanks to the ritual I was able to perform, the powers of 4 of them now lie in my hands." He opened his hand to show a set of intricate medals, depicting a mammoth, a pteranodon, a saber-toothed cat and a triceratops. "Such intricate craftsmanship is now in the hands of someone who will use it to its full extent. We just need to take the powers of that tyrannosaurus warrior and I'll have a complete set."

"You!" The two Annihilators turned around to see Goldar reappear, accompanied by a Minotaur creature and another group of Putties. "Not only am I here for revenge, but I'll take the powers you've stolen for my Empress, along with those Putties you already stole."

Kuroden tutted at this threat. "If you want to take these powers, then you're welcome to try. And as for your foot soldiers, I'll give them back to you." At that point, the captured Putties burst open, revealing some fully formed Bio-Roids. "That is if you can find their pieces among all these stones."

"We only needed them to help incubate our Bio-Roids on low life energy.", Aobrix laughed. "Now we can simply face you with them."

And then a fight broke out between the two factions. Kuroden came into close combat with several of the Putties. "Not bad, but let's see you stand up to this." He summoned up the 4 stolen medals and imbued their energy into his sword, releasing a slash that shattered the rock-like creatures. "Weak.", he commented.

As if on cue, a crescent moon-shaped staff flew down from above, penetrating the ground and zapping energy into it, which caused a fissure. Energy leaked forth from the fissure, bathing Goldar and the Minotaur in its steam. As the steam cleared, the two were now giant-sized. "Let's see what your stolen powers do for you now."

Kuroden sighed at this. "Looks like I was wrong. He is as stupid as most Grifforzians. Brother, if you please."

"With pleasure.", Aobrix stated. He slammed his staff into the ground, surrounding himself with a blue glow that enlarged him to comparable size. "Let's dance, boys." In the ensuing fight, Aobrix maintained the advantage, zapping the two opponents with his staff.

* * *

In the Nest's control room, reactivated by the 3 Rangers and their temporary stand-in, Wayne saw the scene on a satellite feed. "Looks like you're too late. Aobrix has already enlarged himself and is engaging two other combatants."

"This isn't good.", Mark replied. He then turned to Mary and Marvin. "Looks like we're going to have to morph a lot earlier than we might have intended."

"Are you sure?", Marvin asked. "These Morphers are still damaged from the last battle with Algrin. We can only Morph once before we lose them for good."

"We have to.", Mary answered for her boyfriend. "If we don't do it now, the entire world could be at stake."

"Exactly.", Mark nodded. "Now, for the last time, let's Ranger up."

The other two nodded and followed his lead in doing the pose. "Let's Fly!" With a flash, the three were once more (or in Mary's case, for the first time) the Flying Rangers.

"Have you managed to get the two Megazords online?", Mark asked.

"I got the Icarus and the Falcon to function.", Wayne said in response. "I'll need some time if you need Dash Boxer, though."

"That's how you beat this guy last time, right?", Mary decided to clarify.

"Yes it was.", Mark answered her. "But we can do without it. I'll take the Icarus." He ran off towards the Rangers' main robot.

"I guess that leaves us in the Falcon.", Marvin said. "Come on Mary." The two then ran out of the room as well.

"Good luck, everyone.", Wayne said quietly. The three Rangers soon got into position in the two robots. "Time to launch both of you." He pressed a button on the console.

**Icarus Megazord! Take Off! Go, Go!  
**

**F-F-F-Falcon!**

* * *

Elsewhere, Aobrix was continuing to dominate in the fight with Goldar and the Minotaur. "It's useless to keep fighting me. Neither of you are 2000 years late enough to face me."

"Well how early are we?" Aobrix turned around to see the Icarus and Falcon Megazords standing side-by-side. "Ok, I think I've got the hang of this.", Mary signalled to Mark. "We'll take this freak down quickly."

"Good to hear.", Mark responded. "Now let's crush this guy once more."

From the ground, Kuroden observed this new development. "So, two of the Flying Rangers and the False Princess have seen fit to show themselves. This should be interesting."

"Behind the battle, Goldar decided to stay relevant. "Now we can destroy both these nuisances and whoever these new pests are." But before he and the Minotaur could join the battle, they were blasted back. "What was that?"

The two looked up to see a robotic tyrannosaurus, piloted by the Red Ranger they were facing. "I'm not about to sit this one out.", he declared. "Now I can take on the two of you clowns." After a brief scrap with the Minotaur, for most of which the beast had the advantage, the Red Ranger decided to use his special attack. The Tyrannosaurus breathed a laser into the ground, which created a shockwave that destroyed the Minotaur and knocked Goldar back.

"This isn't over, human.", Goldar declared. He then teleported out.

A few feet away, Aobrix continued his fight with the two robots. "You're going down.", Mark said, clenching his fist. "Again."

In the resulting fight, Aobrix slashed the two robots with his staff, as Kuroden continued to observe. "Why aren't they using their Dash Boxer?", he wondered. "It secured them victory the last time."

The Falcon jumped at its opponent, only to be knocked back by his staff. The Icarus stood ready to take over. It threw the AviMace at Aobrix, only to have it knocked back by Kuroden, causing the Icarus to recoil. "He's really powerful.", Mark said, uprighting the robot.

"Don't give up.", Mary replied. "We know he can be beat."

"I owe you Rangers a lot of payback for what you did to me last time.", Aobrix shouted as he jumped up and knocked he two robots back. "Time I did what I was called here to do. Wipe out you foolish humans." He zapped the Icarus and the Falcon with energy, causing them to fall down.

In his cockpit, Mark was once more rocked. "Now would be a good time for Dash Boxer.", he wheezed over the radio.

"_As a matter of fact, I've just managed to access his system."_ Wayne reported over the radio. "_Prepare for a special delivery."_

**Vehicle Shift, On! Boxer! Take Off! Go, Go!**

"Say goodbye, Rangers.", Aobrix declared as he threw the Falcon into the Icarus, downing the two robots. "Now my mission will finally be complete." He zapped the two with energy and began running towards them, ready to deliver the deathblow."

From the Falcon's cockpit, Mary sent a message to Mark. "You keep him busy. Marvin and I will deal with Kuroden on the ground."

"Okay.", Mark responded. "Now I just need to wait."

As if on cue, Dash Boxer flew in and ran towards the charging Aobrix, beating him back and unleashing a total thrashing. "How did I forget about you?", Aobrix asked, angry.

Dash Boxer continued with its beatdown, eventually making its way to the Icarus. "What d'ya say, big guy?", Mark asked. "Lie our first time." Dash Boxer nodded and began to transform.

**Action Shift, On! Boxer! Boxer, Power On! **

The Boxer Cannon landed in the hands of the Icarus. "Second time's the charm.", Mark said. "Victory Dynamic!"

The Icarus fired the large cannon, once more vaporising Aobrix. "Not again!", the alien cried out as he died for a second time."

"No!", Kuroden growled. "Rest assured, my brother. The Rangers will pay for this."

As he finished saying this, he was attacked from behind by a shot. He turned around to see Mary standing there, holding a Beak Blaster. "You forced me to acknowledge the torment I was going through. And you hurt Lulu as well. This is for both of us." She then pulled out her AviAttacker, fiddled with the settings and fired.

_Thunder Attack!_

Kuroden took the hit, recovering in time to see Marvin jumping towards him, with his Sky Enforcer deployed. He delivered a flurry of punches to the remaining Annihilator. "Don't think I'm gonna go easier on you than her, because I'm not." He then delivered a final uppercut which launched Kuroden into the air.

But Kuroden was quick to recover from these attacks. "You both just got lucky. I'll use my new power to finish you off." He raised his sword and summoned up the 4 medals.

But before he could commence with his powered-up slash, he saw the Red Ranger whose power he had failed to absorb earlier strike him with his own sword, one that he recognised as being of Ryugekiken origin. They were the most prominent iron workers in developing flawless weapons. "Not so fast, ugly. I'm taking back what you took from my friends." He held his sword up in a position, which allowed him to siphon the powers of the 4 medals into it. He then pulled out his sidearm and shot at Kuroden knocking him back.

"He's not the only one to have a beef with you." Everyone looked up to see Mark jump down with his Wing Saber. "You beat me and left me for dead in our first encounter. I want to truly settle this."

"Very well, Mark Goodman.", Kuroden replied as he pulled up his own weapon. "Let us see who is the superior warrior." The two promptly ran into battle with each other, both managing to score some blows on each other. However, Mark managed to jump over his opponent and use his wings to glide to a position where he could get the drop on his foe. He descended to the ground, delivering a slash of his sword as he did so. This blow knocked Kuroden to the ground. "I don't believe it. I've been bested by a mere human."

"Thanks for the assist.", the new Red Ranger said to his predecessors. "Who are you guys?"

"Let's just say we're people with a history with Kuroden here.", Mark said to answer his question. "A history that's about to come to an end. Let's finish him off."

"Right!" Everyone got out a different weapon, Mark using his Sonic Smasher, Mary using her Hyper Cannon, Marvin using his Sky Enforcer in Burst Mode and the new Red using his sword, supercharged with the energy of the 4 medals. "Fire!"

The 4 beams flew from the Rangers and hit Kuroden dead on, causing him to spark. "So this is the power that bested Uuhcura and Algrin.", he stated as he began to collapse. "We never stood a chance of winning. You were simply too powerful and determined to beat. And for that, you've earned my respect, Rangers." With that said, he collapsed into the ground and exploded in a large fireball.

"I'd better take my team's powers and restore them to their rightful owners.", the new Red said, putting his hands on his hips. "See ya 'round, guys." With that said, he vanished in a beam of red light, that zipped away.

"Yeah, 'see ya 'round.', Mark repeated as the powers of himself, Mary and Marvin failed on them, shutting down for good. "Well, that's it."

"The end of the Flying Rangers.", Mary nodded. "Let's hope that this time, it's for good."

* * *

**_A few days later._**

After Lulu had recovered enough to leave the hospital, albeit requiring a crutch and having bandages on her left arm, the 4 Rangers (and Mary) had gathered in Wayne's lab. Whatever the occasion, Mark had shaved his beard off and Wayne had cut his hair down into a more reasonable shape. "Alright, what's the special occasion that required everyone to look their best?", Mary asked. "Because I was actually starting to like Mark with the beard."

"I've called you here to demonstrate my creation.", Wayne answered. "After a year of trying, and with a few setbacks and delays, I have finally completed the time hole for Marvin."

Everyone was pleasantly surprised to hear this and started clapping. "So does that mean I can go back to 1968 at last?", Marvin asked.

"Not exactly.", Wayne said sheepishly. "I was only able to send objects back as early as 1971 with this thing. I think the time distortion effects of the warp core only encompass 22 years."

Marvin shrugged at this. "Well, I guess that being out by 3 years is good enough. As long as I can get back to an era where I can easily catch up with events, then I'll be fine." He then began hugging everyone of his teammates, saying "I'm really going to miss you."

"And we'll miss you too, big guy.", Lulu said, a tear forming in her eye. "It's too bad Carrie can't be here to see this, considering how much time she spent with you."

"That's okay.", Wayne assured her. "I made sure to record this entire event so I can transmit it into space for her to see when the Avions can pick it up."

"If that's the case, then how about I give her something else to take away from the recording." He then got down on one knee and reached into his pocket. "I've been trying to find the right time to do this, and what better time than right now?"

Mary recognised the position he was getting down into. "Wait, are you about to…?"

"We've already been living together for a while now, and I want to take our relationship to the next step." He pulled out a small black box and opened it, revealing a silver ring. "What'd you say? Are you willing to make this commitment?"

Mary was shocked by this, but soon composed herself. "Of course I'll marry you, you…." She picked up the ring and kissed him on the lips.

"Welcome to the family, Mary.", Lulu commented from the sides.

Marvin braced himself. "Well, I'd better get out of here before this gets anymore mushy.", he joked. "My best wishes to you two." With that said, he entered the portal and vanished, returned to the 1970's.

Wayne smiled at having successfully created his time door, before turning to the soon-to-be happy couple. "So, do you need a best man, Goodman?", he asked.

* * *

This epilogue was not part of the original plan for my series. It was just that I had to replace the Megazord battle with Aobrix during chapter 13, but I still wanted to use the actual fight. I considered several variations of his return, but the reasoning behind it (the two Annihilators broke off the Mutabrid as it was growing) stayed the same. I also incorporated some Zyuranger stock footage of Giant Goldar and the Tyrannosaurus Zord's breath attack, alongside some stuff from episode 3 of that series

Having Mary sub for Lulu was planned for a while, as I felt that trying to help out in the endgame (key word "trying") wasn't enough to redeem her. So I had her take over to add some uniqueness to the battle.

The crossover with Mighty Morphin' was also planned for this chapter since early on. I intended it to be less "team-up" episode and more "early appearance of the next characters."

So that's it for the Flying Rangers. My next project will be an adaptation of Kousoku Sentai Turboranger, to be posted soon after a full sub of that series is released.


End file.
